Hovde Group upgrades FB Financial to 'outperform' following Southern States Bancshares deal

Hovde Group upgrades regional lender FB Financial FBK.N to "outperform" from "market perform" following announcement of $381 million deal to acquire community bank Southern States Bancshares SSBK.O

Brokerage expects strong levers for better growth at FBK than peers and improvement in profitability going forward

Says SSBK deal checks all the boxes, given anticipated EPS boost and cost savings as well as geographic expansion into targeted areas

Hovde cuts PT by $1 to $59 due to less certain economic backdrop amid uncertainty over U.S. trade policy

New PT represents 27.3% upside to stock's last close

3 of 6 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher and 3 "hold"; median PT $60 - data compiled by LSEG

As of last close, FBK shares down 10% YTD