Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Glacier Bancorp (NASDAQ:GBCI) Stock

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised the price target for Glacier Bancorp's stock (NASDAQ:GBCI) from $52.00 to $55.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.54% from the previous close.
• Multiple analysts have provided positive outlooks; for example, Piper Sandler set a new price target at $49.00 and maintained a "neutral" rating.
• Glacier Bancorp reported a quarterly EPS of $0.45, which was below analyst expectations of $0.49, while expecting an average EPS of 2.45 for the current fiscal year.

Glacier Bancorp (NASDAQ:GBCI - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $52.00 to $55.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the bank's stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' target price indicates a potential upside of 13.52% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on GBCI. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Glacier Bancorp from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Glacier Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Glacier Bancorp from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (up from $45.00) on shares of Glacier Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $50.50.

Glacier Bancorp Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:GBCI traded down $0.70 during trading on Thursday, hitting $48.45. 184,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 709,465. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $45.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.87. Glacier Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.76 and a 12-month high of $60.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Glacier Bancorp (NASDAQ:GBCI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.04). Glacier Bancorp had a net margin of 14.99% and a return on equity of 5.98%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Glacier Bancorp will post 2.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Glacier Bancorp

In other news, insider Lee Kenneth Groom sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.24, for a total transaction of $35,392.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,918 shares in the company, valued at $527,252.32. This represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GBCI. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Glacier Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Glacier Bancorp by 218.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 714 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Glacier Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in Glacier Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Glacier Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.17% of the company's stock.

About Glacier Bancorp

Glacier Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Glacier Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals, small to medium-sized businesses, community organizations, and public entities in the United States. The company offers retail banking, business banking, and mortgage origination and loan servicing services.