Citigroup announced on Friday that they have reaffirmed their current “Buy” rating for financial services company,BB&T Corporation(BBT).

The firm has reiterated its “Buy” rating and $35 price target for BBT. This price target suggests a 17.6% increase over the stock’s current price of $28.81. Analysts are expecting the company to beat estimates in its Q4 earnings.

Citigroup noted, “we lower our 4Q EPS estimate 1c to $0.70 from $0.71 (largely due to higher mortgage putback expense given the extension of the lookback period on FRE loans to 2004 and 2005), but still expect 4Q results slightly ahead of consensus ($0.69) mostly on higher net interest income. … We continue to like BBT’s above average profitability and growth, strong balance sheet and risk discipline – all of which make for an attractive long-term investment.”

BB&T Corporation shares were down 20 cents, or -0.69% during Friday morning trading. The stock is up 14.5% YTD.

The Bottom Line
Shares of BB&T (BBT) have a 2.77% dividend yield, based on the latest intraday price of $28.88. The stock has technical support in the $26-$27 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $30-$31 price levels.

BB&T Corporation(BBT) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.