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Investing.com - Barclays has reinstated coverage on BPER Banca (BIT:BPE) with an Overweight rating and a price target of EUR12.50, representing a 33% upside potential from Wednesday’s closing price.
The bank has recently completed the acquisition of an 80.69% stake in BP Sondrio, transforming BPER into what Barclays describes as a "cost-cutting story" with opportunities to streamline operations and strengthen its capital position.
Barclays’ price target reflects estimates that are 6% above Bloomberg consensus for 2026 earnings per share, driven by higher revenue projections (+2%) and lower cost expectations (-3%).
BPER’s stand-alone volume growth has exceeded the Italian banking sector average in the first half of the year, with loans increasing 3.9% year-over-year compared to the sector’s 2.0%, and deposits growing 2.8% versus the sector’s decline of 0.4%.
The investment bank expects BPER’s cost-to-income ratio to reach 46% in 2026 and improve further to 43% in 2027, while projecting a cost of risk of approximately 40 basis points in 2026.
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