Sterne Agee Maintains Buy, PT of $14 on First PacTrust Bancorp

Sterne Agee reiterates its Buy rating and price target of $14 on First PacTrust Bancorp, Inc.

on solid growth of loans, NIM expansion and credit improvement. According to Sterne Agee, “Core earnings for 3Q11 were in line with our expectations; we are nonetheless trimming our FY11E by $0.07 to $0.41 per share (mostly to reflect nonrecurring noise in 3Q11), FY12E by $0.05 to $1.05 per share, and FY13E by $0.03 to $1.37 per share. The trimming of our forward estimates mostly reflects a slightly more conservative view on the upward progression of the NIM, noting our estimates assume TCE is levered down to 11-12% over the next two years.” BANC closed at 11.33 on Thursday.