 In July 1995, Firstar announced the pending acquisition of Dubuque-based Harvest Financial Corporation with its Harvest Savings Bank subsidiary for $32.7 million in stock.The acquisition was completed in January 1996 for $35.9 million in stock.By the end of 1997, some stock market analysts speculated that Firstar was a prime takeover candidate based upon the performance of its stock in recent months and in view of the recent acquisition of First of America by National City and rumors of Banc One was in the process of acquiring First Chicago NBD.