Guild Mortgage price target raised to $16.50 from $14 at JMP Securities

JMP Securities raised the firm’s price target on Guild Mortgage to $16.50 from $14 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The analyst continues to believe Guild’s “differentiated” purchase-market driven origination strategy coupled with its “acquisition-savvy approach” to adding complementary smaller mortgage lenders should pay dividends over time and result in increased market share and a return to sustainable earnings growth. Guild remains in a strong position to weather the current mortgage environment and eventually emerge as a winner within the residential mortgage origination industry, the analyst tells investors in a research note.