Bank of Marin rises after bond portfolio rejig

Bank of Marin Bancorp

02/07/2025 17:08

** Shares of community lender Bank of Marin BMRC.O rise 3% to $24.77

** BMRC late Tuesday announced it had sold $186 million of low-yielding securities to boost future earnings

** Securities repositioning expected to boost EPS by $0.20 per share over the next four quarters and will result in a pre-tax loss of about $19 million, which will be recorded in Q2 2025

** The sold securities had an average yield of 1.96%, with the sale proceeds reinvested at an average yield of 5%

** BMRC is the latest U.S. bank to take a hit on low-yielding investment securities, as lenders look to improve returns

** Piper Sandler lifts PT on BMRC to $25 from $21, a 4% upside to stock's last close

** Four of 6 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, two rate "hold"; with a median PT of $26, according to data compiled by LSEG

** As of last close, BMRC up 1.2% YTD

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru)

((ArasuKannagi.Basil@thomsonreuters.com))