Zacks: Analysts Anticipate First Defiance Financial (FDEF) Will Post Earnings of $0.56 Per Share

Posted by Logan Wallace on Jan 16th, 2019 // Comments off

Analysts forecast that First Defiance Financial (NASDAQ:FDEF) will post earnings of $0.56 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks. Two analysts have made estimates for First Defiance Financial’s earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $0.56 and the lowest estimate coming in at $0.55. First Defiance Financial posted earnings per share of $0.47 during the same quarter last year, which indicates a positive year-over-year growth rate of 19.1%. The firm is expected to announce its next quarterly earnings report after the market closes on Monday, January 21st.

According to Zacks, analysts expect that First Defiance Financial will report full-year earnings of $2.23 per share for the current year, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.22 to $2.23. For the next fiscal year, analysts anticipate that the business will report earnings of $2.31 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $2.30 to $2.32. Zacks’ EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of analysts that that provide coverage for First Defiance Financial.

First Defiance Financial (NASDAQ:FDEF) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 15th. The savings and loans company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55. The company had revenue of $37.45 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.50 million. First Defiance Financial had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 11.40%.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FDEF. BidaskClub downgraded First Defiance Financial from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 27th. Zacks Investment Research lowered First Defiance Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 18th. ValuEngine raised First Defiance Financial from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded First Defiance Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $33.00 in a report on Monday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. First Defiance Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

Shares of FDEF traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.73. 481 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 50,575. First Defiance Financial has a twelve month low of $22.78 and a twelve month high of $35.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $532.69 million, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 0.91.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDEF. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of First Defiance Financial by 100.0% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,312 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares during the period. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of First Defiance Financial by 8.6% in the second quarter. Schwab Charles Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,522 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of First Defiance Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Defiance Financial by 21.0% during the third quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 13,490 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $406,000 after buying an additional 2,345 shares during the period. Finally, Ramsey Quantitative Systems grew its position in First Defiance Financial by 188.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ramsey Quantitative Systems now owns 3,654 shares of the savings and loans company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,386 shares during the period. 64.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Defiance Financial

First Defiance Financial Corp. operates as a unitary thrift holding company that provides community-based financial services in northwest Ohio, northeast Indiana, and southeastern Michigan. It offers checking accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, term certificate accounts, and certificates of deposit, as well as Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service; and consumer finance, 1-4 family residential real estate, commercial real estate, construction, consumer, commercial, and home equity and improvement loans.