Shares of Glacier Bancorp Inc. (GBCI) achieved a new 52-week high, touching $20.83 at the beginning of the trading session on Jun 17. The closing price of this regional bank reflects a solid year-to-date return of 35.9%. The trading volume for the session was 2.7 million shares.
Despite the strong price appreciation, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has plenty of upside left, given its strong estimate revisions over the last 60 days as well as expected year-over-year earnings growth of 14.3% for 2013.
Growth Drivers
Impressive first-quarter 2013 results – including lower expenses, higher non-interest income, healthy balance sheet and solid capital position – as well as strong capital deployment activities have been the primary growth drivers for Glacier Bancorp.
First-quarter 2013 earnings (released on Apr 18) came in at 29 cents per share, up from the year-ago quarter number of 23 cents. Moreover, earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a cent.
Additionally, Glacier Bancorp has delivered positive earnings surprises over the last 4 quarters, with an average beat of 4.8%.
Estimate Revisions Show Potency
For Glacier Bancorp, over the last 60 days, 3 out of 7 estimates for 2013 have been revised upward, raising the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.8% to $1.20 per share. For 2014 as well, 3 out of 7 estimates moved upward over the same time period, lifting the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.8% to $1.33 per share.
Better performing financial stocks include Central Pacific Financial Corp. (CPF), TriCo Bancshares (TCBK) and Preferred Bank (PFBC), all of which carry a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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