Earnings estimates for
Access National Corporation
(
ANCX
) have advanced since this regional bank delivered its 10th
straight positive earnings surprise and saw record earnings in the
third quarter of 2012. In addition to this earnings surprise
history, the company has a long-term expected earnings growth rate
of 8%.
With a P/B multiple of just 1.4, this Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) is
an attractive pick for value investors.
Remarkable 3Q Results
On Oct 23, Access National Corp reported third quarter earnings of
40 cents per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 14.3%
and year-ago earnings by 33.3%. Better-than-expected results were
mainly driven by growth in revenue, partially offset by higher
operating expenses.
Net interest income rose 10.7% from the year-ago quarter to $8.0
million and was driven primarily by lower funding costs and changes
in earning assets mix. Moreover, non-interest income jumped 18.9%
to $12.7 million. Yet, non-interest expenses rose 13.7% to $14.1
million, as a result of higher salaries and employee benefit costs.
Access National Corp witnessed continued improvement in its asset
quality during the quarter as non-performing assets (NPAs) fell to
$3.6 million, or just 0.43% of total assets, down from $5.2 million
or 0.62% of assets at June 30, 2012. Further, as of Sep 30, 2012,
net recoveries were of $1.0 million compared with net charge offs
of $0.075 million as of Sep 30, 2011.
Dividend Update
On Oct 23, the company raised its quarterly dividend 2 cents to 8
cents per share based on strong capital and a favorable outlook
which upped the yield to 2.3%.
On Nov 11, 2012, Access National also announced a special cash
dividend of 70 cents per share which it paid out to shareholders
due to possible changes in the tax rates. The dividend was paid on
Dec 17 to shareholders of record as on Dec 3.
Moreover, the company updated its dividend payout ratio target. The
company now targets a dividend payout of 40% of its core earnings,
exclusive of this special dividend. The earlier payout ratio was
20% of the core earnings.
Earnings Estimates Advancing
Over the last 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012
advanced 6.5% to $1.47 per share with both estimates revised
upward. This implies year-over-year growth of 33.6%. For 2013, the
Zacks Consensus Estimate improved 6.0% to $1.23 with the same
number of estimates revising upward over the same time frame.
Reasonable Valuation
Along with an attractive P/B multiple, Access National Corp has a
forward P/E ratio of 8.9 (a P/E ratio under 15.0 and P/B ratio
below 3.0 generally indicate value).
Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Access National Corp is a
financial holding company for Access National Bank. The company
provides credit, deposit and mortgage services to businesses and
professionals in the northern Virginia region and the Greater
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The company has a market
capitalization of about $142.5 million.
Other Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) banks include Cardinal Financial
Corp. (
CFNL
) and IberiaBank Corp. (
IBKC
).
ACCESS NATL CP (ANCX): Free Stock Analysis
Report
ACCESS NATL CP (ANCX): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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