East West Bancorp price target lowered to $118 from $120 at DA Davidson

DA Davidson lowered the firm’s price target on East West Bancorp (EWBC) to $118 from $120 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares after its Q4 earnings miss. The bank’s net interest margins stabilized during the quarter despite the lower effective Fed Funds rate, though its results were also negatively impacted by a higher provision of $70M vs. the firm’s $41M estimate, necessitated by net charge-offs of $63.5M attributable to two unrelated domestic C&I credits in the technology segment, the analyst tells investors in a research note.