Piper Jaffray Cuts Price Target on First Republic Bank (FRC) to $59 Following 3Q15.

Piper Jaffray reiterated a Neutral rating on First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC), and cut the price target to $59.00 (from $61.00), following the company's 3Q15 earnings results. FRC posted 3Q15 operating EPS of $0.82, consistent with reported EPS and in-line with consensus. Operating expenses increased 5% LQ to $276M from reinvesting in the franchise and higher revenue activity.

Analyst Matthew Clark commented, "We trim our 2015E / 2016E / 2017E EPS to $3.13 / $3.60 / $4.05 (from $3.17 / $3.70 / $4.15) & target to $59 (from $61) based on 3Q results & our expectation for higher expenses as FRC reinvests in the business, Constellation acquisition comes online & incremental spend for officially becoming a $50B in asset bank ($5M annually) masks any regulatory expense relief. The outlook for loan yields is also a concern with the recent move lower in rates that should keep the core margin under pressure. We see FRC shares fully priced here at 17.4x our 2016E EPS, a valuation that reflects above average growth prospects (mid-teens) & an opportunity to gain share from RY / CYN dislocation."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on First Republic Bank click here. For more ratings news on First Republic Bank click here.

Shares of First Republic Bank closed at $62.79 yesterday.

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