UPDATE: Keefe Bruyette & Woods Upgrades PacWest Bancorp to Outperform

Keefe Bruyette & Woods has published a research report on PacWest Bancorp PACW and has upgraded the company to Outperform. In the report, Keefe Bruyette & Woods writes, "We are upgrading PACW to Outperform, as we believe investors can get paid to wait (3.8% divy yield) for organic loan growth to turn positive in 2Q12. PACW has a strong capital base to leverage & we believe it has the capacity to add $1-1.6B in assets. With strong core earnings power at ~2%, we believe PACW is a highly profitable business model and a well-run bank, which warrants our Outperform." Keefe Bruyette & Woods has raised the price target to $22 on PacWest Bancorp, which is currently trading up $1.17 from Friday's $18.95 closing price.