5 Reasons To Buy Flagstar Bancorp (FBC) Stock Right Now

Amid global headwinds, investors have been shying away from investing in the banking sector. However, totally ignoring the sector is not wise as there are several companies with a decent performance history and strong fundamentals, signaling a profitable investment opportunity.

Flagstar Bancorp Inc. (NYSE:FBC) is one such company that continues to reflect strength in several areas and adding the stock to your investment portfolio should not disappoint. With a market capitalization of more than $1.5 billion, the company provides financial products and services to individuals and businesses in the U.S.

Notably, the stock of this Troy, MI-based company has gained more than 21% year-to-date.

Why is the Stock an Attractive Pick?

Earnings Strength: Flagstar Bancorp has recorded earnings per share (EPS) growth rate of 5.5% over a period of three to five years. Moreover, the earnings growth rate for the current year is expected to be 4.8%.

Also, the company boasts an average earnings surprise of approximately 35% over the trailing four quarters.

Revenue Growth: Organic growth remains solid at Flagstar Bancorp. Revenues grew at a CAGR of 4.7% over the last five years (2011–2015). Further, the top line is expected to grow 3.2% in 2016.

Return on Equity: Flagstar Bancorp has a return on equity of 10.0% compared with the industry average of 7.1%.

Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio: Flagstar Bancorp’s P/E ratio stands at 11.71 compared with the industry average of 15.76, indicating that the stock is undervalued.

Upward Estimate Revisions: Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has increased 11.9% and 0.8% to $2.35 and $2.40 for 2016 and 2017, respectively. Backed by these upward estimate revisions, the company sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Other Stocks to Consider

If you are interested in stocks in the savings and loan space, you may consider Meta Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASH) , HomeStreet, Inc. (NASDAQ:HMST) and Flushing Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FFIC) as well.

Meta Financial currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. Notably, the company’s earnings for the current year are expected to grow at an impressive 34% rate. Also, the stock has gained around 38% in the past six months.

HomeStreet’s earnings for 2016 are expected to grow at the rate of 17.9% and the stock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. Further, over the last six months, shares of the company have gained more than 27%.

Flushing Financial’s shares have gained 10.8% in the trailing six months. In addition, the company’s earnings for the current year are expected to grow at the rate of 19.8%. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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