Yahoo Finance 4 Reasons to Invest in Community Trust (CTBI) Stock Right Now
Adding Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. CTBI stock to your portfolio now seems to be a wise idea. The company’s fundamental strength and growth prospects make it a good investment option.
Analysts are optimistic about its earnings growth potential. Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTBI’s 2024 earnings has been revised 2.7% upward. Thus, the company currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Its price performance also seems impressive. The stock has gained 2% over the past three months compared with the industry’s growth of only 0.6%.
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Some other factors mentioned below make Community Trust a solid pick right now.
Earnings Growth: In the last three to five years, the company’s earnings witnessed a CAGR of 7.2%. While its earnings are projected to decline in 2024, the trend will reverse afterward. In 2025, earnings are expected to grow 3.3%.
Also, the company has an impressive earnings surprise history. Its earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 4.5%.
Revenue Strength: Driven by continued growth in net interest income, Community Trust’s revenues witnessed a CAGR of 3.5% over the last five years (2018-2023), with the uptrend continuing in the first quarter of 2024. Revenues are projected to increase 1.3% in 2024 and 3.1% in 2025.
Strong Leverage: Currently, Community Trust’s debt/equity ratio is 0.10, while that for the industry is 0.26. This shows that CTBI uses minimal debt to finance operations. Thus, it will be financially stable even in adverse economic conditions.
Superior Return on Equity (ROE): The company currently has an ROE of 11.36%, higher than the industry average of 9.41%. This reflects that it is more efficient than peers in using its shareholder funds.
Other Stocks Worth a Look
A couple of other top-ranked stocks from the finance space are T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. TROW and Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. APAM.
Earnings estimates for TROW have been revised 13.5% upward for the current year over the past 60 days. The company’s share price has increased 16.2% over the past six months. TROW currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Artisan Partners presently carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its earnings estimates have been revised upward by 3% for the current year over the past 60 days. In the last six months, APAM’s share price increased 14.7%.
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T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. (TROW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Community Trust Bancorp, Inc. (CTBI) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Artisan Partners Asset Management Inc. (APAM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
