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3 Reasons Why First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI) Is a Great Growth Stock
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Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.
However, the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects, makes it pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks.
First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI - Free Report) is one such stock that our proprietary system currently recommends. The company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.
Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.
Here are three of the most important factors that make the stock of this bank holding company a great growth pick right now.
Earnings Growth
Earnings growth is arguably the most important factor, as stocks exhibiting exceptionally surging profit levels tend to attract the attention of most investors. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for First Guaranty Bancshares is 16.5%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 13.6% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of -7.9%.
Impressive Asset Utilization Ratio
Growth investors often overlook asset utilization ratio, also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio, but it is an important feature of a real growth stock. This metric exhibits how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.
Right now, First Guaranty Bancshares has an S/TA ratio of 0.05, which means that the company gets $0.05 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.04, it can be said that the company is more efficient.
In addition to efficiency in generating sales, sales growth plays an important role. And First Guaranty Bancshares is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 17.8% this year versus the industry average of 0%.
Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions
Beyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
The current-year earnings estimates for First Guaranty Bancshares have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 4.6% over the past month.
Bottom Line
While the overall earnings estimate revisions have made First Guaranty Bancshares a Zacks Rank #2 stock, it has earned itself a Growth Score of B based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above.
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3 Reasons Why First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI) Is a Great Growth Stock
Investors seek growth stocks to capitalize on above-average growth in financials that help these securities grab the market's attention and produce exceptional returns. However, it isn't easy to find a great growth stock.
By their very nature, these stocks carry above-average risk and volatility. Moreover, if a company's growth story is over or nearing its end, betting on it could lead to significant loss.
However, the Zacks Growth Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which looks beyond the traditional growth attributes to analyze a company's real growth prospects, makes it pretty easy to find cutting-edge growth stocks.
First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI - Free Report) is one such stock that our proprietary system currently recommends. The company not only has a favorable Growth Score, but also carries a top Zacks Rank.
Research shows that stocks carrying the best growth features consistently beat the market. And for stocks that have a combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), returns are even better.
Here are three of the most important factors that make the stock of this bank holding company a great growth pick right now.
Earnings Growth
Earnings growth is arguably the most important factor, as stocks exhibiting exceptionally surging profit levels tend to attract the attention of most investors. And for growth investors, double-digit earnings growth is definitely preferable, and often an indication of strong prospects (and stock price gains) for the company under consideration.
While the historical EPS growth rate for First Guaranty Bancshares is 16.5%, investors should actually focus on the projected growth. The company's EPS is expected to grow 13.6% this year, crushing the industry average, which calls for EPS growth of -7.9%.
Impressive Asset Utilization Ratio
Growth investors often overlook asset utilization ratio, also known as sales-to-total-assets (S/TA) ratio, but it is an important feature of a real growth stock. This metric exhibits how efficiently a firm is utilizing its assets to generate sales.
Right now, First Guaranty Bancshares has an S/TA ratio of 0.05, which means that the company gets $0.05 in sales for each dollar in assets. Comparing this to the industry average of 0.04, it can be said that the company is more efficient.
In addition to efficiency in generating sales, sales growth plays an important role. And First Guaranty Bancshares is well positioned from a sales growth perspective too. The company's sales are expected to grow 17.8% this year versus the industry average of 0%.
Promising Earnings Estimate Revisions
Beyond the metrics outlined above, investors should consider the trend in earnings estimate revisions. A positive trend is a plus here. Empirical research shows that there is a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.
The current-year earnings estimates for First Guaranty Bancshares have been revising upward. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has surged 4.6% over the past month.
Bottom Line
While the overall earnings estimate revisions have made First Guaranty Bancshares a Zacks Rank #2 stock, it has earned itself a Growth Score of B based on a number of factors, including the ones discussed above.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
This combination indicates that First Guaranty Bancshares is a potential outperformer and a solid choice for growth investors.