Keefe Bruyette & Woods On NARA, CLFC

Keefe Bruyette & Woods has published a research report on Nara Bancorp NARA and Center Financial Corp CLFC after the companies announced a pending merger of equals. In the report, KBW writes "On December 9, Nara Bancorp (NARA) and Center Financial Corp. (CLFC) announced a pending merger of equals (MOE), with Nara as the acquirer and Center as the target. The merger will unite the two strongest, independent Korean-American banks to create the dominant sector leader. We have long considered Nara and Center to be natural fits for an MOE. We reiterate our Outperform ratings on both NARA and CLFC. We were already positive about Center and Nara with Outperform ratings on both stocks, and are now optimistic about the results that the joint company should be able to achieve." Keefe Bruyette & Woods maintains its Outperform rating and has lowered the price target from $12 to $10 on Nara Bancorp, which closed Friday at $9.39. Keefe Bruyette & Woods maintains its Outperform rating and $9 price target on Center Financial Corp, which closed Friday at $7.15.