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3 Reasons Why You Should Buy Bank of Hawaii (BOH) Stock Now

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As curtain falls on Q1 earnings for the Finance sector, it’s time to adjust your portfolio based on the latest quarterly performance. As the sector was one of the best performers, we thought of bringing up a stock from there that reflects strong fundamentals and solid long-term growth opportunity.

Bank of Hawaii Corporation (BOH - Free Report) is one such banking stock that not only beat estimates this time, but also has been witnessing upward estimate revisions, reflecting analysts’ optimism about its growth prospects. Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2017 increased 1.2%.

Though the shares of this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock have gained 15.8% in the last one year, it underperformed the 32% growth for the Zacks categorized West Banks industry.



Nonetheless, Bank of Hawaii has a number of aspects that make it an attractive investment option and this is expected to lead to improved price performance in the coming quarters.

Revenue Strength: Bank of Hawaii’s revenues increased at a CAGR of 1.3% over the last five years (2012–2016). Further, the top line is expected to grow 5.4% in 2017, higher than the industry average of 4.2%.

Earnings Growth: Bank of Hawaii witnessed earnings growth of 1.9% in the last three to five years. This earnings momentum is likely to continue in the near term as reflected by the company’s projected earnings per share (EPS) growth (F1/F0) of 2%.

Further, the company’s long-term (three to five years) estimated EPS growth rate of 8.5% promises rewards for investors in the long run.

Superior Return on Equity (ROE): Bank of Hawaii has an ROE of 15.14%, better than the industry average of 9.48%. This shows that the company reinvests its cash more efficiently.

Other Stocks Worth a Look

Some other stocks in the finance space worth considering are BOK Financial Corporation (BOKF - Free Report) , Comerica Incorporated (CMA - Free Report) and Raymond James Financial, Inc. (RJF - Free Report) .

BOK Financial witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 14.2% for the current year, in the last 60 days. Its share price surged 36.1% in the last one year. The company currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Comerica also sports a Zacks Rank #1. The company witnessed an upward earnings estimate revision of 9.9% for the current year, in the last 60 days. Its share price increased 59.7% in the last one year.

Raymond James carries a Zacks Rank #2. For the current fiscal year, in the last 60 days, its Zacks Consensus Estimate was revised 4.5% upward. The company’s share price jumped 46% in the last one year.

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