UPDATE: Sterne Agee Upgrades Umpqua Holdings Corp. to Buy, Raises PT Following Recent Estimate Increases

In a report published Monday, Sterne Agee analyst Brett Rabatin upgraded the rating on

from Neutral to Buy, and raised the price target from $17.50 to $19.00. In the report, Sterne Agee noted, “We are upgrading the shares to BUY from Neutral and increasing our PT to $19 (+$1.50), based on a peer valuation level of 14x our FY14E. We increased our estimates recently and are less inclined to take a wait and see approach to the STSA deal that we increasingly believe will be better than the market appears to be expecting.” Umpqua Holdings Corp. closed on Friday at $16.44.