RBB Bancorp still facing 'uncertainty' following CEO departure

Analyst notes

The news that RBB Bancorp CEO Alan Thian resigned is an "important first step" for the company, but "uncertainty" still remains, Piper Sandler analyst Nicholas Cucharale wrote in an April 11 note.

The company will not fully resolve the issue until a permanent successor is named and the full financial impact of Thian's resignation and the resignation and departure of former Chief Lending Officer Tammy Song is known, according to the analyst.

The analyst maintained his "underweight" rating given the ongoing uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Timothy Coffey wrote that Thian's departure could reduce uncertainty. However, "significant headwinds" remain related to Thian's prior professional relationships with several senior executives, the fact that the company now has to rebuild its lending department following Song's departure in February and uncertainty around whether the situation will impact the company's pending acquisition of Gateway Bank FSB, Coffey wrote.

Upgrades

Raymond James analyst David J. Long upgraded First Financial Corp. from "market perform" to "outperform," and established a target price of $49 after meetings with management left the analyst "bullish" on the company's shares. Long wrote that First Financial's organic loan growth will improve, there are upsides to the company's above average asset sensitivity and its excess capital level creates opportunity.

"Net, with shares trading at a steep discount to peers on both a P/E and P/TBV basis, we believe the current valuation is an attractive entry point as we believe THFF shares will narrow the valuation discount over time," Long said.

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Compass Point analyst Chris Allen upgraded The Charles Schwab Corp. from "neutral" to "buy" with an outlook that the company's current valuation presents a positive risk/reward. Specifically, the analyst noted that the potential upsides of a higher rate environment more than offset the possible impact of "cash sorting" and a challenging market outlook.

"After adjusting, SCHW is currently trading at 19x/15x our '22/23 estimates," Allen said. "Our $98 PT represents 18x our 2023 estimate and 20% upside to current levels. Historically, SCHW has traded at an avg. 2-year PE of 19x."

Dropped coverage

Piper Sandler analyst Brad Milsaps dropped coverage of Spirit of Texas Bancshares Inc. after Simmons First National Corp. completed its acquisition of the company. Piper Sandler's last rating for Spirit of Texas in November was "neutral" with a price target of $28.50.