Список проголосовавших за комментарий " <table class="BriefingDataTable" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"><tr> <td class="tickerColumn"> </td> <td class="articleColumn">Sterling Bancorp upgraded to Outperform at Hovde Group; tgt $27 (23.85)Hovde Group upgrades STL to Outperform from Market Perform and sets target price at $27. The <strong>AF</strong> story has had its share of drama in recent months, with the break-up of co's prior agreement to be acquired by <strong>NYCB</strong>. The new tie-up with STL doesn't come as a huge surprise to firm (nor does firm think it was all that surprising to the market), given several considerations, including (a) the widely-held view that AF wasn't all that viable as a stand-alone entity and would again be sold; (b) the ongoing involvement of an activist investor; © the perceived limited number of eligible and capable buyers — which they think was due to unusual circumstances in most cases rather than a lack of interest in the franchise; and (d) STL management's cagey response to questions regarding its potential interest in the AF franchise — including most recently on the company's 4Q earnings call — which led us to believe that it would indeed be a suitor (and the most logical one at that).</td> </tr></table>"