2 Financial Stocks to Buy After Massive Earnings Beats
After blowing away their quarterly earnings expectations last Friday, The Travelers Companies TRV and World Acceptance WRLD are two top-rated Zacks stocks that investors will want to consider.
Let’s take a look at their quarterly reviews and outlooks to see why now is an ideal time to invest in these two very intriguing stocks.
The Travelers Companies Q4 Review
Providing a wide range of commercial and personal property and casualty insurance products, The Travelers Companies has joined an expanding list of insurance stocks that stand out including the likes of Progressive PGR and CNA Financial CNA.
The Travelers Companies’ fourth quarter results helped make an even stronger case for investors' consideration with Q4 EPS coming in at a record $7.01 per share and 39% above estimates of $5.04 a share. Fourth quarter earnings also soared 106% year over year from $3.40 a share in Q4 2022.
Core income of $1.62 billion and Core Return on Equity of 24% were all record highs for the quarter as well driven by both underwriting and investment results. Overall, The Travelers Companies rounded out fiscal 2023 with annual earnings up 6% to $13.13 per share and full-year core income up roughly 1% to $3 billion.
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World Acceptance Q3 Review
Providing small-scale consumer loans, World Acceptance’s fiscal third-quarter earnings of $2.84 per share crushed the Zacks Consensus of $1.62 a share by 75% and climbed swinged from an adjusted loss of -$0.78 a share in the comparative quarter. More impressive, World Acceptance has now surpassed earnings expectations in each of its last four quarterly reports posting an average earnings surprise of 59.77%.
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Notably, net Income of $16.7 million skyrocketed from $5.8 million a year ago with World Acceptance seeing a sharp rebound and uptick in gross loan origination balances from $28.9 million in the prior year quarter to $46.76 million.
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EPS Growth & Outlook
According to Zacks estimates, The Travelers Companies' annual earnings are forecasted to soar 31% this year and climb another 15% in FY25 to $19.88 per share. Fiscal 2025 EPS projections would also represent 42% growth over the last five years as the insurance titans steady expansion looks set to continue.
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Turning to World Acceptance, FY24 earnings are now projected to skyrocket 215% to $11.33 per share versus $3.60 a share last year. Even better, FY25 EPS is forecasted to expand another 17% to $13.28 per share as the company is starting to regain its post-pandemic mojo with earnings at $8.03 a share in 2019.
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Bottom Line
The Travelers Companies and World Acceptance have started to reconfirm their status as two very attractive growth stocks to consider. Earnings estimate revisions are likely to trend higher in the following weeks and now looks like a good time to invest in these expansive financial companies with both stocks sporting a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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World Acceptance Corporation (WRLD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The Progressive Corporation (PGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
CNA Financial Corporation (CNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
