trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/_EsXMSvrqNGppygdgFg-5A2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Jefferies initiates LPL Financial Holdings at 'buy'

Podcast

Street Talk Episode 87

Blog

A New Dawn for European Bank M&A Top 5 Trends

Blog

Insight Weekly: US banks' loan growth; record share buybacks; utility M&A outlook

Blog

Banking Essentials Newsletter 2021: December Edition


Jefferies initiates LPL Financial Holdings at 'buy'

Jefferies LLC analyst Gerald O'Hara initiated coverage of LPL Financial Holdings Inc., citing opportunities in the fee-based advisory segment and the independent employee channel.

While the fee-based segment is largely an extension of existing offerings, the independent employee channel is new in that the company will offer services such as payroll, human resources and real estate, according to O'Hara. LPL recently completed the acquisition of Lakeland, Fla.-based registered investment adviser Allen & Co. of Florida Inc.

The analyst identified investment in technology to better improve adviser/client experience and below-target leverage in late cycle environment as key differentiating factors versus peers. He noted the company's discounted valuation and mentioned that management is poised to take advantage of higher fee portfolio construction and premium services.

O'Hara rated the company "buy," with a price target of $96.00. The analyst set EPS for full year 2019 at $7.08 and $7.63 for 2020.