People's Utah Bancorp PUB offers a profitable investment opportunity, driven by steady earnings growth and solid prospects. Also, easing margin pressure, supported by the improvement in the interest-rate scenario, is expected to aid top-line growth.
The company is also witnessing upward estimate revisions, reflecting analysts’ optimism about its growth prospects. Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2018 has been raised nearly 1%.
Further, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock has rallied 20.2% so far this year, outperforming 7.1% growth for the industry.
There are several fundamental factors that make People's Utah Bancorp a solid investment option.
Earnings Growth: People's Utah Bancorp witnessed earnings growth of 14.4% in the last three to five years. The earnings growth rate for 2018 and 2019 is anticipated to be 34% and 7.6%, respectively, ensuring continued momentum.
Also, People's Utah Bancorp has a decent earnings surprise history. The bank delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 5.2% in the trailing four quarters.
Further, the company’s long-term (three to five years) estimated EPS growth rate of 8% promises rewards for investors.
Revenue Strength: People's Utah Bancorp has been witnessing consistent improvement in revenues for the past few years. Over the last three years (2015-2017), the company’s revenues witnessed a CAGR of 11.7%. Driven by improving rate environment and rising loan demand, its top line is expected to grow 26.7% in 2018 and 5.8% for 2019.
Strong Leverage: People's Utah Bancorp’s debt/equity ratio is nil compared with the industry average of 0.20. The relatively strong financial health of the company will help it perform better than its peers under a dynamic business environment.
Superior Return on Equity (ROE): People's Utah Bancorp has ROE of 12.18%, better than the industry average of 10.80%. This shows that the company reinvests its cash more efficiently.
Other Stocks Worth Considering
Some other top-ranked stocks in the same industry are East West Bancorp, Inc. EWBC, Guaranty Bancorp GBNK and RBB Bancorp RBB. All three stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
East West Bancorp has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 1.3% for the current year, over the past 60 days. Also, in the past year, its share price has jumped 10.4%.
Guaranty Bancorp earnings estimates have remained stable for the current year, over the past 60 days. Its share price increased 9.4% in the past year.
RBB Bancorp recorded an upward earnings estimate revision of 3.5% for the current year, over the past 60 days. Also, its share price has seen a surge of 40.9% in the past year.
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