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West Bancorp (WTBA) Stock Jumps 5.7%: Will It Continue to Soar?
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West Bancorp (WTBA - Free Report) shares soared 5.7% in the last trading session to close at $20.81. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 5.8% gain over the past four weeks.
The Federal Reserve has signaled an end to the current rate hike cycle by keeping interest rates unchanged at the 22-year high of 5.25-5.5% at the end of the two-day FOMC meeting. The central bank has also indicated a 75 basis points cut in rates by 2024-end. The above-mentioned developments have attributed to bullish investor sentiments. Given the fall in rates, the higher funding costs being faced by banks will likely come down somewhat next year, thus supporting net interest income and margins. This probably drove the WTBA stock higher in last day’s trading session.
This holding company for West Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -41.5%. Revenues are expected to be $18.82 million, down 17.9% 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 West Bancorp, 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 WTBA going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.
West Bancorp is a member of the Zacks Financial - Savings and Loan industry. One other stock in the same industry, Northfield Bancorp (NFBK - Free Report) , finished the last trading session 2.6% higher at $12.27. NFBK has returned 21.4% over the past month.
Northfield's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.17. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -45.2%. Northfield currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
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West Bancorp (WTBA) Stock Jumps 5.7%: Will It Continue to Soar?
West Bancorp (WTBA - Free Report) shares soared 5.7% in the last trading session to close at $20.81. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 5.8% gain over the past four weeks.
The Federal Reserve has signaled an end to the current rate hike cycle by keeping interest rates unchanged at the 22-year high of 5.25-5.5% at the end of the two-day FOMC meeting. The central bank has also indicated a 75 basis points cut in rates by 2024-end. The above-mentioned developments have attributed to bullish investor sentiments. Given the fall in rates, the higher funding costs being faced by banks will likely come down somewhat next year, thus supporting net interest income and margins. This probably drove the WTBA stock higher in last day’s trading session.
This holding company for West Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.31 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -41.5%. Revenues are expected to be $18.82 million, down 17.9% 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 West Bancorp, 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 WTBA 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 >>>>
West Bancorp is a member of the Zacks Financial - Savings and Loan industry. One other stock in the same industry, Northfield Bancorp (NFBK - Free Report) , finished the last trading session 2.6% higher at $12.27. NFBK has returned 21.4% over the past month.
Northfield's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.17. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -45.2%. Northfield currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).