UPDATE: Wunderlich Upgrades Pinnacle Financial Partners Following Investor Meetings

In a report published Monday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Kevin Reynolds upgraded the rating on Pinnacle Financial Partners (NASDAQ: PNFP) from Hold to Buy, and raised the price target from $31.00 to $34.00.

In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “We are upgrading shares of Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP) to Buy from Hold and we are raising our price target by $3 to $34 following three days of meetings with institutional investors on the West Coast last week. Halfway through its three-year profitability and growth plan, PNFP is on target to meet or exceed its profitability targets by year-end 2014, which calls for PNFP to achieve an ROAA between 1.10% and 1.30%, along with double digit net loan growth. We believe there is a high probability that PNFP will achieve both its growth and profitability targets, which implies potential EPS of $2.00 (vs. $1.83 consensus for 2014). Despite this, PNFP shares trade at a discount to Southern peers, and we believe current levels offer an attractive entry point for growth oriented investors.”

Pinnacle Financial Partners closed on Friday at $28.61.