Guild Mortgage initiated with a Buy at BTIG

BTIG initiated coverage of Guild Mortgage with a Buy rating and $18 price target. The company is a top-20 mortgage originator, and a top-30 servicer with roots tracing back to the 1960s, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says Guild’s recent acquisition of Academy Mortgage could support a 25%-plus pickup in origination volume this year, which reinforces the focus on building scale through acquisitions. The stock is still below book value and seven-times forward earnings, and can grow into a low-double-digit return without levering the balance sheet very meaningfully, contends BTIG.