First Business Financial price target raised to $61 from $58 at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler raised the firm’s price target on First Business Financial (FBIZ) to $61 from $58 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares following strong Q3 results that included 8% PPNR upside driven by stronger core fee income and solid improvement in credit quality metrics. In Piper’s view, First Business is well-positioned for price to earnings expansion above peers via continued above average operating leverage with additional high single digit growth in both loans and core deposits as well as with its relatively stable adjusted net interest margin outlook aided by management’s well-calculated match funded balance sheet approach. The firm anticipates these factors should drive continued superior TBV growth.