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Why Meta Financial (CASH) Stock Will Continue to Rally

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Shares of Meta Financial Group, Inc. (CASH - Free Report) surged nearly 97% over the last one year as compared with the Zacks categorized Savings & Loan industry growth of approximately 18%. Strong fundamental driven by steady loan and deposit growth as well as inorganic expansion strategy seem to be the primary reasons for this impressive stock performance.

Further, this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock has been witnessing solid estimate revisions. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2017 (ended Sep 30) jumped 10.3% to $6.53 per share.

Moreover, the stock has an impressive earnings surprise history. Meta Financial has surpassed the estimates for three of the four trailing quarters, with an average beat of 14.9%.



While past performance doesn’t guarantee similar trend in the future, we believe that the following factors are enough to support a steady price rise for Meta Financial:

Earnings Strength: Meta Financial has witnessed approximately 65.7% jump in earnings per share for the last three to five years. Further, this earnings momentum will likely continue in the near term, as reflected by the company’s projected EPS growth (F1/F0) of 39.8%.

Revenue Growth: Top-line growth remains a key strength at Meta Financial, given the robust growth in loans and deposits. Further, the company’s deal to purchase the assets of Specialty Consumer Services LP and its acquisition of EPS Financial, LLC in Nov 2016 are anticipated to be accretive.

Notably, the company’s revenue is estimated at a growth rate of 57.3% for fiscal 2017, compared with stable revenue for the industry.

Strong Leverage: Meta Financial’s debt/equity ratio stands at 0.36, compared with the industry average of 0.59, indicating a relatively lower debt burden. It also indicates the financial stability of the company even in adverse economic conditions.

Other Stocks Worth a Look

Some other stocks worth considering in the financial sector include Farmers Capital Bank Corporation , Carolina Financial Corporation and SVB Financial Group .

Farmers Capital witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 8.3% over the past 30 days. Also, its share price is up nearly 35% over the last one year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Carolina Financial also flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 and witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 12.9% over the past 30 days. Moreover, its share price is up over 75% over the past one year.

SVB Financial currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). It witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 4.4% over the past 60 days and its share price has risen over 30% in the last one year.

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