Bank Mutual Corporation Stock Upgraded (BKMU)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Bank Mutual Corporation (Nasdaq:BKMU) has been upgraded by TheStreet Ratings from sell to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we find that we feel that the company's cash flow from its operations has been weak overall.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• Looking at where the stock is today compared to one year ago, we find that it is not only higher, but it has also clearly outperformed the rise in the S&P 500 over the same period. Although other factors naturally played a role, the company's strong earnings growth was key. Despite the fact that it has already risen in the past year, there is currently no conclusive evidence that warrants the purchase or sale of this stock.
• BANK MUTUAL CORP reported significant earnings per share improvement in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has demonstrated a pattern of positive earnings per share growth over the past year. We feel that this trend should continue. This trend suggests that the performance of the business is improving. During the past fiscal year, BANK MUTUAL CORP continued to lose money by earning -$1.04 versus -$1.59 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($0.12 versus -$1.04).
• Despite the weak revenue results, BKMU has outperformed against the industry average of 18.7%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 2.8%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.
• The company, on the basis of net income growth from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed compared to the Thrifts & Mortgage Finance industry average, but is greater than that of the S&P 500. The net income increased by 11.1% when compared to the same quarter one year prior, going from $1.04 million to $1.16 million.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly decreased to -$4.65 million or 114.79% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.

Bank Mutual Corporation operates as the holding company for Bank Mutual that provides various financial products and services primarily in the state of Wisconsin. The company attracts deposits and originates loans. Bank Mutual has a market cap of $204.8 million and is part of the financial sector and banking industry. Shares are up 39.9% year to date as of the close of trading on Friday.

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

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

For more information on Bank Mutual Corporation click any of the following:

• Bank Mutual Corporation Stock Price

• Bank Mutual Corporation Analyst Ratings

• Bank Mutual Corporation Key Stats & Profile

• Bank Mutual Corporation Earnings

• Bank Mutual Corporation Ratio Comparison

• Bank Mutual Corporation Growth Rates

• Bank Mutual Corporation Balance Sheet

• Bank Mutual Corporation Cash Flow

• Bank Mutual Corporation Income Statement