In a recent report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods took a deep look at the financial sector. The report included upward adjustments to earnings per share estimates for the following eight companies:

1. Anchor Bancorp ANCB 0.89%: 2015 EPS estimate was raised from $0.29 to $0.48 on the strength of a recent quarterly earnings beat. The stock’s price target was raised from $19.00 to $21.00.
2. D.R. Horton, Inc. DHI 1.29%: 2015 EPS estimate was lifted from $1.80 to $1.85 on the operational strength seen in the company’s recent earnings report.
3. Heartland Financial USA Inc HTLF 3.6%: 2015 EPS estimate was boosted from $2.08 to $2.40 and 2016 earnings projections were hiked from $2.37 to $2.60 after the recent quarterly report showed strong numbers and fundamental trends. The stock’s price target was raised from $28.50 to $32.00.
4. Lincoln National Corporation LNC 2.91%: 2015 EPS estimate was adjusted higher from $5.82 to $5.83 after the company recently provided an updated intermediate-term outlook.
5. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. NWBI 2.48%: 2015 EPS estimate was raised from $0.65 to $0.68 and 2016 earnings projections were hiked from $0.65 to $0.72 to reflect the LMB Bancorp Inc LNBB 0.8% acquisition.
6. PartnerRe Ltd PRE 0.16%: 2015 EPS estimate was lifted from $13.55 to $14.91 to reflect the company’s recently-released guidance.
7. SVB Financial Group SIVB 0.51%: 2015 EPS estimate was boosted from $5.45 to $5.80 on the strength of the company’s balance sheet and growth guidance.
8. Sun Bancorp, Inc. /NJ SNBC 0.05%: 2016 EPS estimate was adjusted upward from $0.57 to $0.61 to account for higher loan growth revisions.

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