Bridge Bancorp's (BDGE) market price has recently rallied due to a strong performance in the third quarter of 2019. Due to greater than expected loan growth, and an improvement of my outlook on credit demand, I've revised upwards my estimates for BDGE's earnings in 2020 and my target price for the stock. However, due to the market price rally, the stock offers less potential for capital appreciation than before; hence, I'm downgrading BDGE to a neutral rating.
Strong Loan Growth to Continue
BDGE gave a positive surprise in 3QFY19 by posting remarkable loan