Jefferies Maintains Buy, $25 PT on SunTrust

Jefferies reiterates its Buy rating and $25 price target on SunTrust (NYSE: STI) as the company posts 4Q results.

Jefferies says, "STI posted GAAP EPS of $0.28, but we are getting an operating number closer to $0.10 after normalizing the tax rate and accounting for a gain on pension curtailment ($60mm helper), securities gains ($19mm helper), and severance ($27mm drag). The miss was driven by environmental costs as repurchase losses ($215mm vs. $117mm last quarter) were bad as advertised and credit-related expenses were up $52mm."

STI closed at $20.24 per share on Thursday.