UPDATE: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Upgrades Renasant Corp. to Outperform, Reiterates $30 PT on Multiple Positive Factors

In a report published Thursday, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Catherine Mealor upgraded the rating on

from Market Perform to Outperform, and reiterated the $30.00 price target. In the report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods noted, “RNST beat EPS estimates for the past two quarters and is on an achievable path to higher profitability (+1% ROA, 15% ROTCE and sub-60% efficiency ratio), should continue to deliver double-digit legacy loan growth and will benefit from additional M&A opportunities across its MS, AL, TN and GA footprint, in our opinion. However, the stock is down 15.5% YTD and now trades at a discount to the Southeast Buyer Peer Group (at 13.3x vs peers at 14.1x) and is the third least expensive stock on KBW's Teachers Pet List (behind SCBT and COLB, both of which we rate OP).” Renasant Corp. closed on Wednesday at $26.58.