East West Bancorp added to DA Davidson Best-of-Breed Bison initiative

DA Davidson keeps a Buy rating and $76 price target on East West Bancorp while adding the stock to the firm’s Best-of-Breed Bison initiative that seeks to identify the highest quality companies with “strong competitive positioning and exceptional financials”. The company has an “enduring moat” via Asian-American focus as “Bridge to the West” and looks “uniquely positioned” to benefit from its brand in this market, while also banking a mainstream clientele, the analyst tells investors in a research note, adding that continued population growth of the country’s Chinese-American population should continue to support the bank’s long-term opportunity. The bank also trades at a significant discount to its intrinsic value, with tangible book value of $43.29 as of September-end that is estimated to grow at 12% annually, the firm added.