UPDATE: FIG Partners Upgrades MB Financial to Outperform, Raises PT

In a report published Wednesday, FIG Partners upgraded its rating on MB Financial

from Market Perform to Outperform, and raised its price target to $23.50. FIG Partners noted, “We are increasing our rating on shares of MBFI to “Outperform” from ‘Market-Perform' primarily due to valuation. Shares have sharply underperformed the NASDAQ Bank Index since mid July and currently trade at a discount to peer. Applying a 12x multiple on our 2013E EPS of $1.80 and adding over $2 in excess cash results in a one year price target of $23.50 which equates to shares trading at nearly 140% of tangible book value. Our multiple is justified given an ROTCE of ~11.5% in third quarter. The buyback should provide downside protection to the shares and we continue to believe the bank will perform better than peer in this rate environment given ongoing steps to diversify its revenue stream and improve its funding mix.” MB Financial closed on Tuesday at $20.04.