Italian bank BPER Banca S.p.A. (IT:BPE) shares have experienced a remarkable surge of over 135% over the past year, resulting in great satisfaction for its investors. The shares have also generated a return of 57% YTD, indicating another year of favorable growth. Analysts maintain a positive outlook on the stock with a Moderate Buy rating.
BPER Banca provides banking and financial services to private and business accounts in Italy. It is among the leading banking groups in the country.
Positive Numbers
BPER Banca posted better-than-expected earnings in its first quarter of 2023. The bank achieved net profits of €290.7 million, a significant increase compared to the €113 million reported in the same period last year. The bank’s net interest income also jumped by 92% to €726 million, benefiting from higher interest rates in the economy. These impressive results surpassed analysts’ predictions and contributed to further upward movement in the company’s shares.
The bank also stated that it remains on track to meet its 2022-2025 financial targets earlier than expected. The lender is striving to reach its €800 million profit target for this year, originally established in its business plan for 2025. It has also projected a net interest income of €2.5 billion for the current year.
16 days ago, Marco Nicolai from Jefferies reiterated his Buy rating on the stock, predicting more than 40% growth in the share price. Nicolai is a four-star-rated analyst on TipRanks and covers financial stocks in the Italian market.
BPER Banca Share Price Target
According to analysts’ evaluations on TipRanks, BPE stock has a Moderate Buy rating, supported by three Buy recommendations and two Hold recommendations.
The average price prediction for a 12-month period is €3.9, which implies a 32.6% growth from the current price.
Conclusion
The anticipated positive impact of higher interest rates is expected to further drive profit growth for BPER Banca. This outlook has led analysts to be bullish, with a projection of more than 30% growth in the share price.
