SunTrust analyst Jennifer Demba lowered her price target on Pinnacle Financial to $65 after its Q3 results and also lowered her FY18 EPS view by 2c to $4.69. The analyst attributes the estimate changes to lower industry valuations, with revisions reflecting "higher fee income offset by higher expenses". Demba also keeps her Buy rating on Pinnacle Financial, stating that its "attractive" forward earnings multiple of 10.9-times relative to the peer median of 10.5-times is a premium that is justified by its "superior" growth and profitability profile.

Reports Q1 revenue $428.1M, consensus $422.5M. "Inflation appears to be more difficult to tame than the Fed had predicted," said M. Terry Turner, CEO. "Regardless of the economic landscape, our focus continues to be on strengthening our balance sheet and growing our earnings and tangible book value, while continuing to take steps that we believe will position our firm for long-term growth. We continued to execute our unique business model during the first quarter. We are reporting strong core earnings inclusive of a meaningful provision for credit losses. We recruited 37 new revenue producers during the quarter, including 14 in our newer markets of Atlanta, Washington D.C., Birmingham and Jacksonville. And as another demonstration of why we are so successful in hiring the best bankers in our markets, FORTUNE and Great Place to Work(R) recognized our firm as No. 11 on their list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States. We have been on FORTUNE's top 100 list for the last eight years, but this is our highest ranking, further demonstrating the staying power of our culture, even as we have become a larger, high-growth bank. Our firm is uniquely positioned in what we believe are many of the best banking markets in the Southeast. As a result, combined with our distinctive operating model, we remain confident in our ability to generate long-term sustainable growth in loans, deposits and earnings in spite of the current economic volatility."