UMB Financial Stock Touches 52-Week High: Is It Worth Investing?
UMB Financial Corporation UMBF shares touched a 52-week high of $106.54 on Monday. The stock closed the session a little lower at $105.8, gaining 30.5% in the past three months.
The stock has outperformed the industry and its peers like Commerce Bancshares, Inc. CBSH and 1st Source Corporation SRCE in the same time frame.
Three-Month Price Performance Chart
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Factors Leading to UMBF Stock's New 52-Week High
A major factor for this upward movement of UMBF stock can be attributed to the expansion of its CLO Trustee and Loan Administration division by adding a new management team, including Henry Brigham, Willis Hwang and David Knecht. These new hires are part of UMBF’s strategic initiative to enhance its position and expand customer offerings in the CLO market.
In addition to this, the Federal Reserve’s decision to begin a rate cut this week is likely have contributed to the surge. The expected rate cut will positively impact UMB Financial by supporting its NII and net interest margin (NIM) expansion.
UMB Financial’s NII witnessed a CAGR of 8.2% over the last four years (ended 2023), with the uptrend continuing in the first half of 2024. NIM expanded to 2.63% in 2022 from 2.50% in 2021. However, it declined in 2023 and the first half of 2024 due to high funding costs.
The interest rate cuts will lead to the stabilization of the deposit costs for UMBF. Also, as rates come down, the demand for loans will improve. This, in turn, will lead to an improvement in NII and NIM.
Does UMBF Have More Room to Run?
Improving Fee Income: The company offers a range of fee-based products and services that management believes are closely aligned with customer demands. Currently, there is an emphasis on areas, such as trust and securities processing, bankcard services, securities trading and brokerage, and cash and treasury management.
Management’s efforts to boost fee income are evident in the growth in non-interest income over the years. The metric witnessed a CAGR of 6.2% for the four-year period that ended in 2023, with the rising trend continuing in the first half of 2024. As of June 30, 2024, non-interest income represented 38.6% of total revenues, up from 36.5% in the same period of 2023.
The company's investment in revenue-producing capabilities is likely to support top-line growth. Going forward, diverse lines of business and verticals will keep aiding UMB Financial’s non-interest income growth.
Strong Liquidity & Capital Position: As of June 30, 2024, the company’s cash and interest-bearing due from banks totaled $5.1 billion, significantly exceeding its debt of $1.68 billion. This highlights a strong liquidity profile.
As of the same date, UMBF’s capital ratios were well above the regulatory requirements, with a Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio and a total risk-based capital ratio of 11.14% and 13.08%, respectively.
The company also rewards its shareholders handsomely. The company has increased its dividend five times in the past five years, with a five-year annualized dividend growth of 6.42%. Similarly, CBSH has also increased in dividend eight times in the past five years, while SRCE has increased it seven times.
Given the strong liquidity and capital position, UMBF’s capital distribution activities seem sustainable.
UMB Financial Corporation Dividend Yield (TTM)
UMB Financial Corporation dividend-yield-ttm | UMB Financial Corporation Quote
Inorganic Growth Efforts: In April 2024, UMB Financial and Heartland Financial, USA entered into a definitive merger agreement for UMBF to acquire Heartland Financial in an all-stock transaction valued at around $2 billion.
Through this buyout, UMBF will further diversify its business, adding scale to its consumer and small business capabilities. Also, the deal will add California, Minnesota, New Mexico, Iowa and Wisconsin to UMB Financial’s existing footprint, thereby creating a presence in the Midwest and Southwest markets. It also strengthens the company’s presence in its existing markets.
This will result in UMB Financial having $64.5 billion in assets, increasing its retail deposit base by double and private wealth management’s assets under management/ assets under administration by 31% to $21.2 billion.
In 2023, UMB Bank N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of UMBF, agreed to acquire Hybarger & Associates, a firm with operations in Dallas, Houston and Kansas City. Along with increasing its footprint, this acquisition will also help enhance UMBF's expertise in interest rate risk analysis, budgeting, forecasting and other financial services. This will expand UMBF's capabilities, particularly in serving community banks.
These strategic moves position UMB Financial for significant growth and increased market influence in the coming years.
Favorable Estimate Revision Trends for UMBF
Over the past 60 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 and 2025 earnings per share has moved upward. This represents UMBF’s earnings are expected to grow 10.25% in 2024 and 2.23% in 2025.
This upward adjustment reflects a positive sentiment among analysts and suggests encouraging prospects.
Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Final Thoughts on UMBF Stock
UMB Financial’s inorganic growth strategies, combined with a solid capital position, are expected to bolster its financial performance in the long run. Additionally, the Federal Reserve's rate cuts are anticipated to reduce funding costs and enhance its NII and NIM. Hence, it might have room left to run even higher.
Given the strong fundamentals and bright long-term prospects, UMBF stock is an attractive pick for investors now.
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (CBSH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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