Glacier Bancorp rises after Piper Sandler upgrades to 'overweight'

Shares of regional lender Glacier Bancorp GBCI.N rise 1.33% to $45.73 premarket

Piper Sandler upgrades GBCI to "overweight" from "neutral"; raises PT to $58 from $50, a 28.5% upside to stock's last close

Brokerage cites margin improvement, strong earnings growth, cheap valuation and solid credit quality

GBCI's margins are set to keep improving through 2027 thanks to loan and securities repricing, steady loan growth and lower funding costs, with net interest margin expected to rise above 4%, brokerage says

Piper Sandler sees GBCI's stock underperformance YTD look unwarranted creating an attractive entry point as profitability improves and new markets like Texas add clients

GBCI has a strong M&A track record and now has even more targets after entering Texas, making future deals likely and supporting its continued earnings growth, brokerage says

5 of 6 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 1 "hold"; median PT is $51.50 — data compiled by LSEG

As of last close, GBCI down 10.1% YTD vs +7.2% gain for the Nasdaq Bank Index .IXBK