Driven by strength in fundamentals and good growth prospects, Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. CTBI looks like a solid investment option right now. Further, the company has been witnessing upward earnings estimate revisions off late, reflecting that analysts are optimistic about its earnings growth potential.
The company’s Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current-year earnings has been revised 1.8% upward over the last 60 days. Consequently, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Further, its price performance seems impressive. The company’s shares have rallied 16.1% in a year’s time, outperforming 9.6% growth of the industry.
Now, let’s look at some of the other factors that make Community Trust a lucrative investment option.
Revenue Strength: Community Trust’s revenues have witnessed a CAGR of 2.6% over the past four years (2014-2017). Further, its projected sales growth of 4.8% for 2018, slightly higher than the industry average of 4.5% ensures the continuation of the uptrend in revenues.
Earnings Per Share (EPS) Growth: Community Trust witnessed earnings growth of 2.3% in the last three to five years. This earnings momentum is likely to continue in the near term as reflected by the company’s projected EPS growth rate of 22.3% for 2018.
Strong Leverage: Community Trust’s debt/equity ratio is 0.11 compared with the industry average of 0.24. The relatively strong financial health of the company will help it perform better than its peers in a dynamic business environment.
Superior Return on Equity (ROE): Community Trust has an ROE of 10.24%, higher than the industry average of 8.80%. This shows that the company reinvests its cash more efficiently.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks in the same industry include Capstar Financial Holdings, Inc. CSTR, CenterState Bank Corporation CSFL and FCB Financial Holdings, Inc. FCB.
Over the past 60 days, Capstar Financial has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 2.7% for the current year. In the past three months, its share price has risen 5.8%. The stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Over the past 60 days, CenterState’s earnings estimates have been revised 3.6% upward for the current year. Additionally, its share price has increased 14.7% over the past three months. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2.
FCB Financial has a Zacks Rank of 2. Over the past 60 days, its earnings estimates for 2018 have been marginally revised upward. Shares of the company have rallied 16% over the past three months.
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