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Here's Why Glacier Bancorp (GBCI) Stock is Worth Betting on

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Glacier Bancorp, Inc. (GBCI - Free Report) looks like an attractive investment option right now, given its strong fundamentals and promising prospects. Further, the bank’s efforts to expand inorganically are commendable.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Glacier Bancorp’s earnings has remained unchanged for both 2019 and 2020, over the past 30 days. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The company’s shares have rallied 8.1% over the past six months, outperforming the industry’s rise of 6.1%.



What Makes Glacier Bancorp a Solid Pick

Earnings strength: Glacier Bancorp witnessed 10.9% growth in earnings over the past three to five years. This trend is expected to continue in the near term as evident from projected earnings growth rate of 9.2% and 6.6% for 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Also, the company has a decent earnings surprise history. It outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the trailing four quarters, the average positive surprise being 2.1%.

Revenue growth: Glacier Bancorp’s revenues witnessed a CAGR of 10.8% over the last five years (2014-2018). Steady improvement in loan and deposit balances as well as acquisitions will continue to support the company’s revenues.

Over the past year, Glacier Bancorp has completed/announced a number of deals, which are expected to be accretive to earnings, and will expand its presence in several regions. The top line is expected to increase 12.5% in 2019 and 11.1% in 2020.

Capital deployments: Glacier Bancorp has an impressive capital deployment plan. The company hikes its quarterly dividend on a regular basis, with the last rise announced in September. In aggregate, the bank has increased dividends 45 times. Also, the company has a dividend yield of 2.73% based on las day’s closing price. Given the earnings strength and lower debt/equity ratio compared with the industry, the bank’s capital deployments look sustainable.

Strong leverage: Glacier Bancorp’s debt/equity ratio is 0.08 compared with the industry’s average of 0.13. The relatively strong financial health of the company will help it perform better in an unstable economic environment compared with its peers.

Other Key Picks

Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s (HTH - Free Report) 2019 earnings estimates have been revised 13.5% upward over the past 60 days. This Zacks Rank #2 company’s shares have jumped 36.6% so far this year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Encore Capital Group Inc’s (ECPG - Free Report) earnings estimates for 2019 have been revised 4.1% upward over the past 60 days. So far this year, this Zacks #2 Ranked company’s shares have surged 53.6%.

Earnings estimates for Tradeweb Markets Inc. (TW - Free Report) have moved 5.3% upward over the past 60 days for 2019. The company’s shares have rallied 24.7% so far this year. It carries a Zacks Rank of 2, at present.

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