FB Financial's Southern Expansion and Buybacks Drive Analyst Optimism

All seven analysts covering FB Financial rate the stock a Buy or Strong Buy, with a consensus price target implying roughly 15% upside. The July 2025 acquisition of Southern States Bancshares expanded FB Financial's Southeast footprint, adding billions in assets, loans, and deposits. FB Financial is growing loans and deposits organically while raising its dividend and aggressively repurchasing shares, though integration and credit quality remain risks to watch.

Investors who don’t live in the South might not know Nashville-based FB Financial NYSE: FBK. But maybe they should. The banking company is a year into absorbing a major southern acquisition while earnings surge, loans grow, and aggressive buybacks are boosting shareholder returns. All seven analysts covering FBK have issued a Buy/Strong Buy rating on the stock. And, since July, two analysts have raised their price targets.

Overall, the consensus 12-month price target is $64.67, implying about a 15% upside. The highest 12-month target is $67, while the lowest is $63. That tight range suggests analysts are broadly aligned on FB Financial’s current valuation.

Much of the past year’s growth came as the company, parent of FirstBank, pushed its footprint deeper into Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and Georgia. In July 2025, the company closed its acquisition of Southern States Bancshares, parent of Southern States Bank in Anniston, Alabama, in a deal valued at roughly $368.4 million at closing. The merger instantly added $2.9 billion in assets, $2.3 billion in loans and $2.5 billion in deposits, significantly expanding FB Financial’s scale across the Southeast.

In its Q2 2026 earnings report, FB Financial noted net income of $58.6 million, or GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.13, compared with just $2.9 million, or six cents per share, a year earlier. Non-GAAP EPS came in at $1.14, up from 88 cents a year earlier, essentially matching the consensus estimate of $1.14. The sharp increase in earnings was amplified by a large securities loss in the prior-year quarter, but the adjusted results still show meaningful underlying earnings growth. Revenue of $174.75 million was more than double the year-ago figure, though it landed a shade below Wall Street's forecast.

Beyond the acquisition-driven increase in scale, FB Financial is also seeing solid underlying growth in loans, deposits, and net interest income. Total assets stood at $16.8 billion as of the second quarter, up from $13.4 billion a year ago, but the more important signal is what happened after the deal: loans grew at an 11.6% annualized pace, while noninterest-bearing deposits increased at a 16.7% annualized rate. For a regional bank, that combination matters. Loan growth provides additional earning assets, while growth in noninterest-bearing deposits can help keep funding costs under control. Net interest income climbed to $149 million from $146 million the prior quarter and $111.4 million a year earlier. Pre-tax, pre-provision net revenue rose roughly 8% to $83.3 million over the past three months, pushing that profitability measure above 2% of average assets. Management nevertheless remains more measured about the full year, guiding for mid-to-high-single-digit loan growth and a core net interest margin of 3.7% to 3.8%, excluding purchase-accounting accretion.