Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Sees Operating Leverage Being Created for Capital City Bank Group

In a report published Wednesday, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Jefferson Harralson reiterated an Outperform rating and $17.00 price target on

. In the report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods noted, “We marketed with CCBG in the Midwest and came away excited about the medium- to long-term potential for lower expenses, powerful asset remixing, and share repurchases -- although the timing for each is unclear. While we only expect a 0.36% ROA in 2014 and 0.42% ROA in 2015, we still believe the shares are attractive at 1.2x TBV. All pieces of the operating leverage equation are moving in the right direction, in our view. Expenses should be down (details to follow), and hopefully loan growth will drive a powerful asset remix and a higher NIM. We see loan growth as the swing factor and higher rates would be the icing on the cake -- all while credit should continue to improve.” Capital City Bank Group closed on Tuesday at $13.96.