The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, March 5, edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Doug Young has reaffirmed his "buy" call for Canadian Western Bank. The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Young gave his share target a $2 trim to $35. Analysts on average target the shares at $34.09. Mr. Young calls the current valuation "compelling." He says in a note: "Adjusted pretax, preprovision (PTPP) earnings were 2-per-cent above our estimate. Some will be disappointed with the flat NIM this quarter, but it was flat for good reason -- deposit growth outpaced loan growth. Expense management was a positive surprise, underscoring management's commitment to delivering positive operating leverage for the year. The beat was driven by lower-than-expected expense growth, resulting in an expense ratio of 49.2 per cent (vs our estimate of 50.4 per cent) and strong operating leverage of 7 per cent. While management's confidence in delivering positive operating leverage for the full year has increased, expense growth for this year is still expected to be around mid-single digits." The Globe reported on Nov. 7 and Feb. 14 that Mr. Young continued to rate Canadian Western "buy." It was then worth $29.05 and $27.36.