UPDATE: Sterne Agee Initiates Laporte Bancorp at Buy on Valuation

Sterne Agee initiated coverage on Laporte Bancorp

with a Buy rating and an $11 price target. Sterne Agee noted, "We are positive on shares of LaPorte Bancorp, trading at 72% of tangible book value. We believe this small-cap, Indiana conversion will out-earn similarly sized, in-market peers and should be valued compared to more profitable, overcapitalized conversions trading at 106% of tangible book value, in our opinion. The primary driver of profitability is the company's mortgage warehouse business which should continue to significantly contribute to earnings through 2014." Laporte Bancorp closed at $8.58 on Wednesday.