J.P. Morgan Neutral On MB Financial (MBFI)

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has a Neutral rating and a $23 price target on shares of MB Financial MBFI after it reported earnings. In a note to investors, J.P. Morgan writes, "MBFI reported another quarter of modest earnings, with core EPS of $0.05, or in between our estimate of $0.04 and consensus of $0.06. While it does appear that the bank seems to have gotten over the credit hump and is now positioned to show sustained, albeit choppy, credit improvement over the next several quarters, with the market now much more intently focused on loan growth potential, MB's first quarter loan growth trends left little to write home about, with period-end loan contraction of 15% annualized much higher than peers at 2% annualized. Although we do expect loan growth to return to MBFI over the longer term, as with the turn in credit, shareholders will need to be patient given a general slow economic recovery combined with a management team at MBFI that appears cautious with the competitive environment over the near term. Consequently, no change to Neutral rating." Shares of MBFI lost 15 cents yesterday to close at $20.95, a loss of 0.7%.