Eurobank sees Bank of Cyprus shares at EUR 15

Eurobank Securities have upped their price target on the Bank of Cyprus shares from EUR 14 to EUR 15 with an outperform recommendation on the back of expectations that the profit target for 2007 will exceed expectations.

Eurobank analysts expect Bank of Cyprus to achieve profit growth of 28.5% annually during the 2007-2009 period, with the 2007 profits seen at EUR 452.2 mln, which are seen climbing to EUR 575.4 mln in 2008 and EUR 683.4 mln in 2009 and EUR 783.2 mln in 2010.

EPS are seen climbing to EUR 0.80 in 2007, EUR 1 in 2008, EUR 1.2 in 2009 and EUR 1.4 in 2010, while the p/e ratio is seen at 15.3 times based on the 2007 forecast and 12 times based on 2008 forecasted profits.

Eurobank analysts are confident that Bank of Cyprus Management will be able to deliver the desired results and are encouraged at the Group’s dynamic expansion into Romania and Russia in addition to market leadership in Cyprus and very significant operations in Greece.