Shares of Evercore Partners Inc. (EVR) reached a new 52-week high, touching $55.74 during the second half of the trading session on Dec 2. However, the stock closed the session at $54.69, which reflects a solid year-to-date return of 77.7%. The trading volume for the session was 0.2 million shares.
Despite the strong price appreciation, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has plenty of upside left, given its strong estimate revisions over the last 30 days and expected year-over-year earnings growth of 24.5% for 2013.
Growth Drivers
Evercore Partners’s third-quarter 2013 earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The robust results were primarily driven by top-line growth, partly offset by poor expense management. Moreover, Evercore Partners has delivered positive earnings surprises in 3 out of the past 4 quarters with an average beat of 18.03%.
On Oct 23, Evercore Partners posted third-quarter 2013 adjusted earnings of 53 cents per share, which easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents. The reported figure was also higher than 40 cents earned in the prior-year quarter.
A year-over-year increase of 25% in net revenue was a positive for the quarter. However, an increase of 25% in compensation expenses and 12% in non-compensation expenses on a year-over-year basis reflected inefficient expense management.
Along with the earnings release, the company’s board of directors declared a 14% hike in the quarterly dividend to 25 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on Dec 13, 2013 to common stockholders of record on Nov 29, 2013.
Estimate Revisions Show Potency
Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate moved up 3.3% to $2.22 per share. For 2014, the Zacks Consensus Estimate advanced 1.1% to $2.74 per share.
Other investment brokers worth consideration include The Charles Schwab Corporation (SCHW), Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR) and Raymond James Financial, Inc. (RJF). All these stocks carry the same Zacks Rank as Evercore Partners.
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment