A Hold recommendation has recently been issued to financial institution Wilmington Trust Corporation (WL) by Zacks banking industry analyst Neena Mishra.  Here's what her latest update had to say:

'Third quarter '07 core diluted earnings of $0.67 per share were five cents short of our estimate and consensus. While net interest margin remained unchanged from last quarter at 3.73%, the provision for loan losses was 36.9% higher. Non-interest income was down 2.2% from the last quarter as higher revenues from the Wealth Advisory Services were more than offset by lower revenues from Corporate Client Services and an affiliate money manager.

'Non-interest expenses were up 4.5% sequentially, reflecting recent acquisitions. Based on the results, we have moderated our FY07 and FY08 estimates. WL currently trades at 12.9 times the consensus forward estimate (versus 13.5x at the time of our last report), at par with the peer group median (versus a 15% discount at that time).

'On a price-to-book basis, the shares trade at a 13% premium to the peer median, versus a 19% premium earlier. Relative pricing looks fair on a P/E-to-Growth (PEG) basis (using the consensus forward estimate and the consensus long-term growth rate). WL's PEG ratio is now 1.55, a 3.3% premium to the 1.50 median for the peer group (vs. a 14% premium previously).

'Our new $39 price target (down $4.00) equates to 2.32 times projected book value six months out, or 13.4 times our estimate for FY 2008. We view the $1.34 per share annual dividend as secure, implying an expected total return of 2.4% over the period. We, therefore, reiterate our Hold rating on the shares.'