Wedbush upgrades M&T Bank to Outperform as a defensive safe haven

As previously reported, Wedbush analyst David Chiaverini upgraded M&T Bank to Outperform from Neutral with a $170 price target. The analyst views M&T as a defensive safe haven from a credit quality standpoint. The analyst believes "we are in the early-to-middle innings of an economic downturn" given the significant amount of liquidity being withdrawn from the banking system by the Fed and the resulting negative impact this could have on the economy. His upgrade is based mostly on his expectation for M&T to perform better than peers from a credit quality perspective in a recessionary environment. He also likes M&T’s conservative business model, its locking-in of net interest margin at an elevated level through balance sheet positioning, consistent earnings growth, and the potential revenue/expense synergies from the recent acquisition of People’s United.