First Financial (FFIN) Surges 7.3%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?
First Financial Bankshares FFIN shares rallied 7.3% in the last trading session to close at $32.05. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 20.7% loss over the past four weeks.
After stumbling significantly over the past few trading days, the trend for FFIN has reversed. Following the fall-out from the collapse of two S&P 500 banks, investors have regained some confidence in the sector amid the steps taken by regulators to avert a full-blown bank run. Moreover, inflation numbers have come out as expected, which has further reinforced investor optimism. These developments drove the FFIN stock higher in last day’s trading session.
This commercial banker operating mostly in Texas is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.39 per share in its upcoming report, which represents no change from the year-ago quarter. Revenues are expected to be $132.17 million, down 1.4% 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 First Financial, 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 FFIN going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
First Financial is a member of the Zacks Banks - Southwest industry. One other stock in the same industry, Guaranty Bancshares Inc. GNTY, finished the last trading session 9.2% higher at $29.35. GNTY has returned -15.4% over the past month.
Guaranty Bancshares Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.73. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -18.9%. Guaranty Bancshares Inc. currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
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First Financial Bankshares, Inc. (FFIN) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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