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Investing.com - Piper Sandler upgraded Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE:BHB) from Neutral to Overweight and raised its price target to $35.00 from $34.00 following the bank’s acquisition of Guaranty Bancorp. The regional bank, currently valued at $444 million in market capitalization, trades at an attractive P/E ratio of 11.2x and below book value at 0.95x.
The upgrade comes after Bar Harbor completed its acquisition of Guaranty Bancorp, formerly traded as GUAA, on July 31, 2025. Piper Sandler cited the strategic benefits of this acquisition as a key factor in its more positive outlook. InvestingPro data reveals the bank has maintained dividend payments for 31 consecutive years, with a current attractive yield of 4.41%.
The research firm described Bar Harbor as "an exceptionally well-run bank with a prudent operating strategy, comparatively good profitability metrics, and lower-than-peer credit risk" in its analysis.
Piper Sandler noted that incorporating Guaranty Bancorp into its financial models revealed additional value in the combined entity. The firm believes the merger "introduces a new component to the story" for potential investors.
The acquisition’s completion provides "another compelling reason to own shares of BHB today," according to the Piper Sandler research note, which factored the transaction’s impact into its revised outlook and price target.
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