UPDATE: Jefferies & Company Reiterates Buy Rating, Lowers PT on Susquehanna Bancshares

In a report published Friday, Jefferies & Company reiterated its Buy rating on Susquehanna Bancshares

, but slightly lowered its price target from $12.00 to $11.50. Jefferies noted, “We cut our 2013 EPS estimate a nickel to $0.95 due to a softer NII forecast. NIM forecast still looks good at 3.95% for next year, but a $16.5b balance sheet is a tall order at this pace of growth. We note that our $0.95 estimate is still above consensus ($0.93) and valuation remains attractive (11x 2013 vs. 13x peer avg.).” Susquehanna Bancshares closed on Thursday at $10.44.