Guaranty Bancorp Stock Upgraded (GBNK)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Guaranty Bancorp (Nasdaq:GBNK) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its increase in net income, expanding profit margins and good cash flow from operations. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including disappointing return on equity and feeble growth in the company's earnings per share.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The net income growth from the same quarter one year ago has significantly exceeded that of the S&P 500 and the Commercial Banks industry. The net income increased by 153.7% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, rising from -$4.01 million to $2.15 million.
• The gross profit margin for GUARANTY BANCORP is currently very high, coming in at 81.70%. It has increased significantly from the same period last year. Despite the strong results of the gross profit margin, GBNK's net profit margin of 9.00% significantly trails the industry average.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly increased by 102.15% to $0.24 million when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow of 102.15%, GUARANTY BANCORP is still growing at a significantly lower rate than the industry average of 4312.83%.
• GUARANTY BANCORP has exprienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. The company has reported a trend of declining earnings per share over the past year. However, the consensus estimate suggests that this trend should reverse in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, GUARANTY BANCORP reported poor results of -$0.72 versus -$0.60 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings (-$0.02 versus -$0.72).
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Commercial Banks industry and the overall market, GUARANTY BANCORP's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

Guaranty Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Guaranty Bank and Trust Company that provides various banking products and services to consumers, and small and medium-sized businesses. It primarily engages in generating deposits and originating loans. Guaranty has a market cap of $144.3 million and is part of the financial sector and banking industry. Shares are up 2.8% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

You can view the full Guaranty Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

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