M&T Bank price target raised to $179 from $160 at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on M&T Bank (MTB) to $179 from $160 and keeps an Overweight rating on the shares. The events in the past week at New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) don’t change the firm’s view that working through CRE will be a long grind for the group, but with weakness accelerating for the next two to three quarters, adds the analyst, who remains In-Line on midcap banks with a skew to defensive names. For the midcap group, the firm is increasing price targets by a median 20% as it rolls its valuation year from 2024 to 2025. However, the firm is also making Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) its Top Pick among midcap banks, replacing M&T, citing Huntington’s low commercial real estate, or CRE, exposure and high reserve ratio.