M&T Bancorp rises as J.P.Morgan upgrades to 'overweight'
03/09/2024 18:52
(Updates)
** U.S. regional lender M&T Bancorp's MTB.N shares rise
~1% to $171.94 amid declines in broader market
** J.P.Morgan upgrades MTB's shares to "overweight" from
"neutral", citing improving credit trends
** Brokerage expects outsized credit fears and worries over
declining net interest margins (NIM) to erode over next few
quarters amid expectations of interest rate cuts by the U.S. Fed
** J.P.Morgan raises PT on MTB's shares to $215 from $183,
an upside of ~25% to stock's last close
** "Once the company is able to demonstrate a stable NIM in
the backdrop of reduced short-term rates ... we believe this
will quickly set the stage for bottom-line EPS expectations to
improve" - JPM
** NIM - a key profitability metric that measures how much a
bank earns as interest on loans and pays out on deposits - has
contracted broadly across the industry YTD amid higher deposit
costs and tepid loan demand
** 11 of 23 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 11
"hold" and 1 "sell"; median PT $182 - LSEG
** The S&P 500 Banks index .SPXBK , which tracks a basket
of large-cap lenders, was last down 0.7%
** As of last close, MTB up ~25% YTD vs 18.4% gain in
benchmark S&P 500 index .SPX
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru)
((Manya.Saini@thomsonreuters.com))