UPDATE: Wunderlich Securities Initiates Coverage On StoneCastle Financial On Investing In Healthy Community Banks

In a report published Wednesday, Wunderlich Securities analyst Merrill Ross initiated coverage on StoneCastle Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: BANX) with a Buy rating and $22.00 price target.

In the report, Wunderlich Securities noted, “We are initiating coverage of StoneCastle Financial Corp. (BANX) with a Buy rating and a $22 price target. We believe that investors could realize total returns in excess of 22%, divided between a cash yield of 10%, and price appreciation of 12% to our target. We think that BANX offers risk-adjusted returns that are both high and unique. Community banks are intensely regulated with the goal of assuring operational stability, which we think could result in better credit performance than many other asset classes invested in by debt investors, including more broadly diversified business development companies (BDCs). Our price target of $22 per share represents our estimate of the company's forward NAV.”

StoneCastle Financial closed on Tuesday at $19.45.