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Central Pacific Financial (CPF) Surges 6.2%: Is This an Indication of Further Gains?

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Central Pacific Financial (CPF - Free Report) shares rallied 6.2% in the last trading session to close at $29.51. 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 1% gain over the past four weeks.

Shares of CPF touched a new 52-week high of $29.55 on Monday. The recent 50 basis points interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve led to an optimistic investor sentiment towards banks. As rates go down, loan demand is expected to improve alongside lower funding cost pressures. These indicate better prospects for profitability in the near term. This drove the CPF stock higher.

This operator of Central Pacific Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.56 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +14.3%. Revenues are expected to be $65.22 million, up 5.2% 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 Central Pacific 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 CPF 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 >>>>

Central Pacific Financial is a member of the Zacks Banks - West industry. One other stock in the same industry, Plumas Bancorp (PLBC - Free Report) , finished the last trading session 1.6% lower at $40.78. PLBC has returned 1.6% over the past month.

For Plumas Bancorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $1.14. This represents a change of -14.9% from what the company reported a year ago. Plumas Bancorp currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).


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