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On Wednesday, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods maintained its Market Perform rating on Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE:BHB) with a steady price target of $35.00. The financial services company recently announced its plans to acquire Guaranty Bancorp in a transaction valued at $41.6 million, to be completed entirely through a stock exchange. This acquisition is expected to significantly expand Bar Harbor Bankshares’ presence in Northern New Hampshire. With current revenue of $148.79 million and a healthy debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, the company appears well-positioned for this strategic expansion.
Bar Harbor Bankshares will integrate approximately $455 million in loans and $530 million in deposits from Guaranty Bancorp. The deal is forecasted to be approximately 30% accretive to the bank’s earnings by 2026 and is anticipated to boost the return on assets (ROA) by 20 basis points. However, the transaction will dilute tangible book value (TBV) by about 10%, with an earnback period estimated at roughly 2.3 years. Notably, InvestingPro reveals that the company has maintained dividend payments for 31 consecutive years, with a current attractive yield of 4.09%.
The acquisition is also projected to leave Bar Harbor Bankshares in a robust post-transaction (PF) capital position, with a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 10.3%. This measure is crucial for assessing a bank’s financial strength and its ability to withstand economic stress.
Bar Harbor Bankshares’ strategic move into Northern New Hampshire through Guaranty Bancorp is aimed at enhancing its market share and financial performance. The anticipated accretion to 2026 earnings and the positive impact on the bank’s ROA reflect the potential benefits of this expansion strategy.
The bank’s stock performance and future outlook remain under close observation by investors and analysts, as the integration of Guaranty Bancorp’s assets and operations begins to unfold over the coming months.
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