Jefferies Maintains a 'Hold' on Northern Trust (NTRS); All Eyes on January

Jefferies maintains a 'Hold' on Northern Trust (NASDAQ: NTRS) price target boosted $2 to $41.

Jefferies analyst says, "Core business wins remain strong, but low interest rates and a stubborn expense base continue to weigh on profitability. Negative lagged comps will drag the EPS run-rate lower in 4Q, but we raise our 2012 EPS estimate to account for a stronger spread income trajectory. We are now only 2% below 2012 consenus with details on cost saves coming in January. We stay at Hold, but see downside risk as more limited."

"We are raising estimates ('12 to $2.90 from $2.75 and '13 to $3.15 from $3.00) to account for stronger-than-expected net interest income. Our new 2012 estimate is only 2% below 2012 consensus and we see less negative consensus revision risk from here, which has long been an overhang on the stock, in our view."

For more ratings news on Northern Trust click here and for the rating history of Northern Trust click here.

Shares of Northern Trust closed at $37.93 yesterday.

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