5 Chicago Banks: How Our Picks Fared

First Midwest Bancorp

First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI) of Itasca, Ill., closed at $10.06 Wednesday, down 12% year-to-date.

The company fully repaid $193 million in TARP money, in November.

FIG Partners analyst John Rodis initiated his coverage of First Midwest on Nov. 14 with an "Outperform" rating and 12-month price target of $11, calling the company "one of the premier Chicago-based franchises growing both organically and through strategic acquisitions," and saying that "at this point it appears credit costs have peaked and are starting to move lower," although provisions for loan loss reserves and therefore earnings "will remain lumpy from one quarter to the next."

Rodis added that First Midwest's Chicago franchise "would be hard to duplicate," and that although the company has been an active acquirer, it "would also be an ideal target for a larger institution looking to gain a presence in the Chicago market."

The analyst estimates that First Midwest will earn 60 cents a share in 2012 and 90 cents a share in 2013.

The shares trade for 1.1 times their Sept, 30 tangible book value of $9.10, according to SNL, and for 14 times the consensus 2012 EPS estimate of 71 cents, among analysts polled by FactSet.

Out of 11 analysts covering First Midwest Bancorp, six rate the shares a buy, while five have neutral ratings.

Interested in more on First Midwest Bancorp? See TheStreet Ratings' report card for this stock.

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