Bar Harbor (BHB) Surges 5.5%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?
Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) shares ended the last trading session 5.5% higher at $27.40. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 1% gain over the past four weeks.
With macroeconomic data indicating cooling inflation and the “soft landing” of the U.S. economy, market participants now don’t see any interest rate hike later this month. They are also of opinion that the Federal Reserve will start cutting rates by March 2024. These factors seem to have turned investors optimistic on banks, driving the Bar Harbor Bankshares stock higher.
This bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.67 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -19.3%. Revenues are expected to be $37.7 million, down 8.5% from the year-ago quarter.
While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
For Bar Harbor, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on BHB going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Bar Harbor is a member of the Zacks Banks - Northeast industry. One other stock in the same industry, Unity Bancorp (UNTY), finished the last trading session 2.2% higher at $28.02. UNTY has returned 10.9% over the past month.
For Unity Bancorp , the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.89. This represents a change of -4.3% from what the company reported a year ago. Unity Bancorp currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
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Bar Harbor Bankshares, Inc. (BHB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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