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First Republic Poised on Strong Fundamentals: Time to Buy?

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It has been observed that Finance is one of the sectors that benefits considerably from higher interest rates. Accordingly, the recent Fed hike seems to have a positive effect on some finance stocks. One such stock is First Republic Bank . The company is benefiting from its organic growth and strong capital position. However, increasing expenses are acting as a headwind.

First Republic’s strong fundamentals have contributed to the 14.6% increase in its share price for the last three months, outperforming the 8.5% gain for the Zacks categorized Major Banks-West industry.



However, the company’s earnings estimates have remained stable for the current year, over the last 30 days. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking at the fundamentals, First Republic has seen impressive top-line growth over the last few years driven by improved net interest income and slight easing of pressure on the net interest margin. Further, the company has also witnessed significant growth in loans and deposits. This uptrend is expected to continue in the near term.

Moreover, the company is well poised to grow through acquisitions given its strong capital position.

Also, First Republic’s trailing 12-month return on equity compares favorably with that of the industry. This indicates that the company is well efficient to generate earnings from the shareholders’ funds available to them.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other favorably ranked finance stocks in the same space include FB Financial Corporation (FBK - Free Report) , Lakeland Bancorp, Inc. (LBAI - Free Report) and Bank of America Corporation (BAC - Free Report) .

FB Financial has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 4.1% for the current year, over the past 60 days. Its share price has risen 53.5% over the last one year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Lakeland also sports a Zacks Rank #1. For the current year, over the past 60 days, its earnings estimate has been revised 6% upward. Its share price has increased 96.4% in the last one year.

Bank of America carries a Zacks Rank #2. It has witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 6.1% for the current year, over the past 60 days. Its share price is up 88.9% over the last one year.

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