Hudson City Upped to Neutral - Analyst Blog
August 05 2011 - 1:45PM
Zacks
We are upgrading our recommendation on Hudson City
Bancorp Inc. (HCBK) to Neutral from Underperform. The
revision follows a detailed analysis of the company’s fundamentals
post second quarter results.
Hudson City’s second-quarter 2011 operating earnings came in at
19 cents per share, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a
penny. However, this compared unfavorably with the earnings of 29
cents in the prior-year quarter.
Operating earnings reflected lower interest expense and a
reduced provision for loan losses. The positives were offset by
lower interest and dividend income, a substantial decrease in
non-interest income, and increased non-interest expense.
Hudson City has completed its balance sheet restructuring, which
has substantially reduced higher-cost structured borrowings and is
projected to increase net interest income in the coming quarters as
interest expenses decrease.
The restructuring efforts led to an improvement in net interest
margin in the second quarter. We believe that the restructuring
initiatives, its strong business model and a solid capital position
would aid results.
Yet, a low interest rate environment would likely compress the
net interest margin from its new higher level. This, combined with
the reduction in balance sheet size owing to the restructuring
transaction, would restrict top-line improvement.
Moreover, considering the restructuring action, the company also
reduced the quarterly dividend by 47% to 8 cents per share from 15
cents paid in the prior quarter.
Therefore, the positive and negative factors seem balanced for
Hudson City and is therefore rated Neutral.
Hudson City currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates
into a short-term ‘Hold’ rating. Its closest peer, People's
United Financial Inc. (PBCT), however, has a Zacks #2
Rank, implying a short-term ‘Buy’ rating.
HUDSON CITY BCP (HCBK): Free Stock Analysis Report
PEOPLES UTD FIN (PBCT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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