KBW upgrades six SMID-cap banks, sees investment opportunity

American National Bankshares

09/11/2018 08:24

** KBW remains "market weight" on small-to mid-cap banks in
the U.S., but upgrades six of them to "overweight" on having
"overly discounted valuations"
    
    ** Upgraded stocks are: 
        - American National Bankshares  AMNB.O  (PT:$43)
        - Cadence Bancorp  CADE.N  (PT:$32)
        - Columbia Banking System  COLB.O  (PT:$45)
        - National Commerce  NCOM.O  (PT:$46)
        - Synovus Financial  SNV.N  (PT:$55)
        - TCF Financial  TCF.N  (PT:$26)    
    ** KBW sees favorable trends, "attractive" core deposit
franchises and says support of share repurchase programs provide
investors with "fresh ideas" heading into year-end for these
banks
    ** In analysis of small-to mid-cap banks, found valuations
remain cheap and overall profitability for the sector is
healthy, especially with high capital levels - KBW
    ** KBW says U.S. regional banks are off recent lows despite
a sell-off as markets appear to be settling
    ** Up to Thursday's close, the KBW Regional Banking Index
 .KRX  has fallen ~11 pct in the last six months

 (Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru)
 ((RM:Pushkala.A.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))