Moors & Cabot Initiates Coverage of MAF Bancorp

Moors & Cabot Initiates Coverage of MAF Bancorp 


CHICAGO, Dec. 5  /PRNewswire/ -- Moors & Cabot is initiating coverage of MAF
Bancorp  ($44.11) with a Sector Outperform rating and a $50 twelve-month price
target.  The share price of MAF Bancorp is up 29.7% year- to-date, which is
slightly better than the 28.4% increase in the Nasdaq BANK index over the same
time period.  Despite a recent rally in the stock's price, which we think was
fueled by the anticipated re-weighting of the S&P Small Cap Thrift Index upon
completion of the St. Francis acquisition, MAF Bancorp is trading about 6% below
the median forward P/E multiple of similarly sized thrifts.  Given the company's
attractive franchise and superior profitability measures, we would argue that
MAF Bancorp should trade at a premium valuation, rather than a discount.

MAF Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of Mid America Bank, a federally
chartered savings bank.  The company, which is based in Clarendon Hills,
Illinois, has approximately $9 billion in assets and operates 66 banking offices
primarily in Chicago and its western suburbs and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The
company's December 1, 2003 acquisition of St. Francis Capital Corporation added
approximately $2.3 billion in assets and 23 branch offices in the Milwaukee,
Wisconsin metropolitan area.

Moors & Cabot is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, CRD
number 594. 

DATASOURCE: Moors & Cabot



CONTACT:  Ronald J. Peterson of Moors & Cabot, [phone]



Web site:  http://www.moorscabot.com/ 

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