BUZZ-Piper Sandler assumes coverage of six Mid-Atlantic regional banks

** Piper Sandler assumes coverage of six Mid-Atlantic regional banks, F.N.B FNB.N, Meridian MRBK.O, Community Financial CBU.N, City Holding CHCO.O, Tompkins Financial TMP.A, and Univest Financial UVSP.O

** Brokerage sees FNB as undervalued with accelerating EPS growth in coming years, driven by margin expansion and strong loan growth

** MRBK is an above-peer growth bank, triple-leveraged to lower short-term rates through margin expansion, mortgage revenue rebound, and reduced credit stress, brokerage says

** Piper says both CBU and CHCO trade at premium valuations; CBU benefits from diversified fee income and strong growth, while CHCO faces slowing EPS trajectory and regulatory risks

** TMP fairly valued with catalysts from insurance sale and restructuring; UVSP trades at discount but needs deposit growth to sustain NIM; both face execution and credit risks, brokerage says

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)

((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com))