Seaport upgrades ‘best of breed’ Independent Bank to Buy

Seaport Research upgraded Independent Bank to Buy from Neutral with a $65 price target. The bank has done a “substantially better job” navigating office maturities, sales and resolution with limited net charge-offs, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Independent posted a “strong” Q2 with net interest margin expansion, expense control and lower than expected loan loss provisioning. Independent Bank will be challenged due to its outsized investor office commercial real estate exposure, but this is fully reflected in the current stock price, contends Seaport. The firm views the company as a “best of breed bank” that is currently trading with a risk/reward profile that offers nice upside from current levels.