UPDATE: Sterne Agee Upgrades SCBT Financial to Buy

Sterne Agee has published a research report on SCBT Financial (NASDAQ: SCBT) upgrading the company from Neutral to Buy based on valuation and the company's six consecutive quarters of ~8.0% growth.In the report, Sterne Agee writes, "We are upgrading SCBT shares to BUY with a price target of $35 based on our valuation model and a 13.0x P/E on our 2013E. SCBT's combination of high-single digit organic loan growth, accretive M&A activity and cost savings from recent branch consolidations positions the company for strong growth in pre-provision, pre-tax income (PPI) in 2012 on a per share basis. This should set SCBT apart from peers, which will mostly depend on reduced provision expense again in 2012. EPS growth of ~25% per year appears feasible over 2012-2013, over 2x the expectations for our SMID cap bank index."Sterne Agee has a $35 price target on SCBT Financial, which is currently trading up $0.78 from Friday's $29.57 closing price.