National Bank Financial
National Bank Financial is the investment dealer of National Bank of Canada, operating institutionally as National Bank Capital Markets and serving retail clients as National Bank Financial Wealth Management. Its equity research concentrates on Canadian companies.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 9412M
- Actions
- 16012M
- Ratings / Price targets
- 42 / 118
- Upgrades / Downgrades
- 15 / 9
- Initiations
- 12
- Buy-rated
- 67%of 33 rated
- Median upside
- +18.5%
- Targets raised / lowered
- 43 / 26
- On record
- Mar 2012 – Sep 2026
Overview
NBFWM’s mission is to help our clients manage their wealth from generation to generation.
The equity research department, headed in 2026 by Greg Colman, covers Canadian companies from large caps to junior resource issuers. National Bank Financial placed sixth in Extel's 2025 Canada research survey.
National Bank of Canada, formed in 1979 by the merger of Banque Canadienne Nationale and the Provincial Bank of Canada, bought Montreal brokerage Lévesque Beaubien in 1988 and merged it with Geoffrion Leclerc in 1989. In 1999 it acquired Toronto's First Marathon, the last of Canada's large independent brokers, for C$712 million and combined it with Lévesque Beaubien Geoffrion as National Bank Financial. NBF acquired U.S. investment bank Putnam Lovell in 2002.
Milestones
- 1979
National Bank of Canada formed by bank merger
- 1988
Parent acquires brokerage Lévesque Beaubien
- 1989
Lévesque Beaubien merges with Geoffrion Leclerc
- 1999
First Marathon acquired; National Bank Financial created
- 2002
Acquires U.S. investment bank Putnam Lovell
Firm facts
- Legal name
- National Bank Financial Inc.
- Type
- Full-service
- Founded
- 1999
- Headquarters
- Montreal, Canada
- Parent
- National Bank of Canada
- Listing
- TSX: NA
- Head of Equity Research
- Greg Colman
- Rating scale
- OutperformSector PerformUnderperform12 months
- Also filed as
- National Bank · National Bank FInancial · National Bank Financial Inc · National Bank of Canada · National Bank Of Canada
- Website
- nbc.ca
Research philosophy
National Bank Financial's monthly Vision report compares the Economics and Strategy group's recommended asset allocation with a benchmark. As of 2026, it also includes up to three top ideas from each equity analyst, selected by estimated total return. Since 2015, the firm's Family Advantage reports have argued that publicly listed Canadian companies controlled by families outperform those with dispersed ownership. It has tracked these companies through the NBC Canadian Family Index since 2017.
Rating methodology
Stocks are rated Outperform, Sector Perform or Underperform relative to the analyst's coverage universe over 12 months, with a Speculative risk qualifier; the Economics & Strategy group assigns separate Overweight, Market Weight and Underweight industry weightings.
Coverage12M
Sectors
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 Lincoln National CorporationLNC | — | $50 |
 Valley National BancorpVLY | — | $17.50 |
 Fidelity National Financial, Inc.FNF | — | $54 |
 Schneider National, Inc.SNDR | — | $38 |
 Simmons First National CorporationSFNC | — | $26 |
 Camden National CorporationCAC | — | $60 |
| CNCN | Outperform | $27.27 |
 First Horizon CorporationFHN | — | $30 |
| NANABZY | Buy | $39.78 |
 National Healthcare Properties, Inc. (NHP)NHP | — | $18 |
Most active analysts
- Terry Ma4 notesFNF
- Janet Lee3 notesVLYFHN
- Anthony Elian3 notesVLYONB
- Damon DelMonte3 notesCAC
- Bob Huang3 notesLNC
- Alex Terentiew3 notesAGCDEHL
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Rating | Target | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 22 | ADAdaptive Biotechnologies CorporationADPT | Target | $34 | ||
| Sep 21 | CNCNNRF | Initiate | Sector Perform | ||
| Sep 21 | CNCN | Initiate | Outperform | ||
| Sep 21 | BYBYAGF | Initiate | Outperform | ||
| Sep 16 | NANABZY | Upgrade | Neutral →Buy | ||
| Sep 15 | Camden National CorporationCAC | Target | $55 →$60 | ||
| Sep 15 | ENEnbridge Inc.ENB | Upgrade | Sector Perform →Outperform | ||
| Sep 14 | MDMDA Space LtdMDA | Initiate | Outperform | ||
| Sep 14 | CLCLNFF | Initiate | Outperform | ||
| Sep 11 | ONOld National BancorpONB | Target | $30 →$32 | Anthony Elian | |
| Sep 10 | TLTLOFF | Reiterate | Outperform | ||
| Sep 10 | NANABZY | Upgrade | Buy →Neutral |