Benchmark initiated coverage of Pinnacle Financial Partners with a Buy rating and a price target of $132 on June 25. The brokerage noted that Pinnacle's growth trajectory and geographic footprint have been bolstered by its merger with Synovus, and it expects profitability to improve over the next year. Benchmark believes the market has doubts about the merger's success, causing the stock to trade at a discounted valuation, and set its price target at 11 times fiscal 2027 earnings estimates. Pinnacle and Synovus completed their $8.6 billion all-stock merger of equals in January, forming a regional bank with $117.2 billion in assets, $95.7 billion in deposits, and more than 400 branches.
Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc.Benchmark initiated coverage with Buy rating and $132 price target, citing discounted valuation and expected profitability improvement.