Independent Bank (IBCP) Soars 6.1%: Is Further Upside Left in the Stock?
Independent Bank (IBCP) shares ended the last trading session 6.1% higher at $24.50. 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 3.5% gain over the past four weeks.
After 11 interest rate hikes, the Fed's decision to pause rate hikes for the third month drove bullish sentiments across markets amid the optimism of easing inflation pressures. With this, the interest rates remain at a 22-year high of 5.25-5.5%. Further, the central bank indicated three interest rate cuts by 2024-end. These developments turned investor sentiment bullish on bank stocks, as high funding costs faced by the industry players are expected to decline in the next year, supporting spread income and margins. Hence, the IBCP stock gained.
This bank holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.71 per share in its upcoming report, which represents no change from the year-ago quarter. Revenues are expected to be $51.5 million, down 1.1% from the year-ago quarter.
Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.
For Independent Bank, 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 IBCP going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Independent Bank is part of the Zacks Banks - Midwest industry. Farmers National Banc (FMNB), another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 5.5% higher at $13.76. FMNB has returned 2% in the past month.
Farmers National's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.36. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -14.3%. Farmers National currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
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Independent Bank Corporation (IBCP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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