UPDATE: Sterne Agee Reiterates Buy Rating, Raises PT on Wells Fargo & Co. on 1Q13 Earnings

In a report published Monday, Sterne Agee analyst Todd L. Hagerman reiterated a Buy rating on Wells Fargo & Co. WFC, and raised the price target from $38.00 to $42.00. In the report, Hagerman noted, “Earnings momentum remains sluggish as core revenues slipped a bit more than expected as results were adversely impacted by lower mortg. revs, including elevated mortg. repurchase provisions and additional NIM compression. Positives included strong credit performance, loan growth and low cost deposit growth. While a fair amount of the EPS slowdown is disc. in the stock, we see pos. EPS leverage on the expense side post the regulatory settlements and further declines in repurchase requests. BUY.” Wells Fargo & Co. closed on Friday at $37.21.