Jefferies recommends buying JPMorgan stock ahead of earnings

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Written on Jul 11, 2023

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Jefferies upgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co to "buy" on Tuesday.
Analyst Ken Usdin expects it to remain a winner in the banking space.
JPMorgan stock is already up nearly 20% versus its year-to-date low.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) are worth buying ahead of the bank’s second-quarter financial results on July 14^th, says Ken Usdin – a Jefferies analyst.

JPMorgan stock has further upside to $165

Usdin raised his rating on the financial services behemoth this morning to “buy”. His new price target of $165 suggests its shares could climb about 14% from here.

In a research note today, the analyst dubbed JPMorgan stock an absolute winner and said he expects that to continue moving forward.

JPMorgan’s combination of balance sheet strength, strong liquidity positioning, and best-in-class earnings generation potential continue to position the bank well.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is expected to earn $3.66 a share in its current fiscal quarter. In comparison, its EPS stood at $2.76 a year ago.

Usdin is bullish on the addition of First Republic

Usdin is particularly bullish on strength of the bank’s balance sheet that, he believes, will help protect it against an increase in deposit costs.

The Jefferies analyst likes JPMorgan stock also because of the recent addition of Frist Republic Bank. His research note reads:

First Republic could add a few percentage points to EPS over the next few years. We believe management was conservative in its original $500mm+ estimate of related accretion (1% at the time).

Lastly, the multinational currently pays a dividend yield of 2.72% that makes up for another reason to own its stock. In June, JPMorgan Chase & Co agreed to settle with victims of Jeffrey Epstein (find out more).