March 6, 2025
Top 10 Stock BancorpSouth Buy Recommendation
How to read the ranks
For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".
Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".
Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.
Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.
(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).
(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.
Snapshot: BancorpSouth – Top 10 Stock in Dow Jones U.S. Regional Banks Index
BancorpSouth is listed as a top 10 stock on March 06, 2025 in the market index D.J. US Banks because of its high performance in at least one of the Obermatt investment strategies. Three consolidated Obermatt Ranks are above-average. Only the Value Rank is below average. The investment rationale may be an investment in future growth, supported by professional market opinion. Based on the Obermatt 360° View of 57 (high 57% performer), Obermatt assesses an overall buy recommendation for BancorpSouth on March 06, 2025.
Snapshot: Obermatt Ranks
| Country | USA |
| Industry | Regional Banks |
| Index | Dividends USA, D.J. US Banks, S&P MIDCAP |
| Size class | Large |
When Obermatt identifies the Top 10 stocks in a market, it’s based on a certain investment strategy. The best performing stocks usually aren’t the ones that everyone is talking about (those are often "over-priced" and have low Value ranks).
For each investment strategy, we provide you with more detailed analysis and our recommendation. You see the ranks of the top 10 stocks ranked by that particular investment strategy (360° View, Sentiment, Value, Growth, Safety and Combined Financial Performance).
360° View: Obermatt 360° View BancorpSouth Buy
| 360 METRICS | March 6, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 31 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 51 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 54 |
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| SENTIMENT | ||||||||
| SENTIMENT | 59 |
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| 360° VIEW | ||||||||
| 360° VIEW | 57 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt 360° View of 57 (better than 57% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and financial characteristics for the stock BancorpSouth are above average. The 360° View is based on consolidating four consolidated indicators, with all but one indicator above average for BancorpSouth. The consolidated Growth Rank has a good rank of 51, which means that the company experiences above-average growth momentum when looking at financial metrics such as revenue, profit, and invested capital growth, as well as stock returns. This means that growth is higher than for 51% of competitors in the same industry. The consolidated Safety Rank at 54 means that the company has a financing structure that is safer than 54% comparable companies when looking at the amount of its debt, its refinancing requirements, and its ability to service debt. Finally, the consolidated Sentiment Rank has a good rank of 59, which means that professional investors are more optimistic about the stock than for 59% of alternative investment opportunities. But the consolidated Value Rank is less desirable at 31, meaning that the share price of BancorpSouth is on the higher side compared with indicators such as revenues, profits, and invested capital. This means the stock price is higher than for 69% of alternative stocks in the same industry. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated 360° View of 57, BancorpSouth is better positioned than 57% of all alternative stock investment opportunities based on the Obermatt Method. As three out of four consolidated Obermatt Ranks exhibit excellent performance, such as above-average growth (Growth Rank of 51), a safe financing structure (Safety Rank of 54), and positive professional market sentiment (Sentiment Rank of 59), it is a solid stock investment where growth may be the strongest driver of the investment rationale, also reflected by institutional investors. It is typical for growth companies to have low value, as is the case here. Investors are willing to pay more for companies that outperform their competitors. So the question is, how much more do you pay for the stock of BancorpSouth compared with alternatives? You can use the following rule of thumb: The growth rank measures the growth momentum of the company (51% better than peers). The value rank could be the reverse reflection of that (49%). A Value Rank below that level may be assessed as expensive, a rank above that is still good value. Sometimes market sentiment just reflects the past, sometimes the reality. You pay more than the market average for this stock, but it may be worth it. ...read more
Sentiment Strategy: Professional Market Sentiment for BancorpSouth positive
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Sentiment Rank of 59 (better than 59% compared with alternatives), overall professional sentiment and engagement for the stock BancorpSouth is above average. The Sentiment Rank is based on consolidating four sentiment indicators, with all but one indicator above average for BancorpSouth. Analyst Opinions are at a rank of 41 (worse than 59% of alternative investments), which means that currently, stock research analysts tend to warn against investing in the stock of the company. But they are changing their opinions! Analyst Opinions Change has a rank of 57, which indicates a shift in stock research experts opinions for the better. In other words, they are getting more optimistic about stock investments in BancorpSouth. Even better, the Professional Investors rank is 54, meaning that professional investors hold more stock in this company than in 54% of alternative investment opportunities. Pros tend to favor investing in this company. Furthermore, Market Pulse has a rank of 76, which means that the current professional news and professional social networks are upbeat when discussing this company (more positive news than for 76% of competitors). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Sentiment Rank of 59 (more positive than 59% compared with investment alternatives), BancorpSouth has a reputation among professional investors that is above-average compared with that of its competitors. While analysts are still critical of the company, some are changing their minds. In addition, the professional news channels are optimistic, and many institutional investors have already bought stock in the company. These are encouraging signals, despite the still lower level of analyst recommendations. They may be due to a problematic past, and about to change. The positive sentiment signals are stronger than the negative. ...read more
Value Strategy: BancorpSouth Stock Price Value below-average critical
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 31 (worse than 69% compared with alternatives), BancorpSouth shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below average for BancorpSouth. Only the metric dividend yield has an above-average rank, reflecting that dividend practices are expected to be higher than 68% of comparable companies, making the stock an attractive buy for dividend investors. However, dividend investors may get disappointed because all other critical financial indicators are below the market median: Price-to-Sales is 36 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is higher than 64% of comparable companies, indicating a low value concerning BancorpSouth's sales levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) with a rank of 38 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profit levels is higher than 62% of comparable companies. In addition, Price-to-Book (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 42 is also low. Compared with invested capital, the stock price is higher than for 58% of comparable investments. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 31, is a hold recommendation based on BancorpSouth's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. Should dividend investors pick BancorpSouth? The company-reported financials speak against it. The company is expensive compared with revenue and invested capital levels, two reliable company size indicators. In addition, it currently has a low level of profits. How can future dividends be paid in the case that profits remain low? Dividend investors should choose BancorpSouth only if they reasonably expect the low current profit levels to be transitory. ...read more
Growth Strategy: BancorpSouth Growth Momentum good
ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 51 (better than 51% compared with alternatives), BancorpSouth shows an above-average growth dynamic in its industry. Investors also speak of positive momentum. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for BancorpSouth. Sales Growth has a rank of 65 which means that currently, professionals expect the company to grow more than 65% of its competitors. Capital Growth is also above 35% of competitors with a rank of 68. But Profit Growth only has a rank of 35, which means that currently professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 65% of its competitors. And Stock Returns have also been below average with a rank of only 31. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 51, is a buy recommendation for growth and momentum investors. Profits are sometimes low if the company invests in the future. The positive revenue and capital investment outlook confirms such an interpretation. Both revenues and capital are solid growth indicators, and lower profits in such a case would be encouraging. But the investors see it differently by punishing the share price. Sometimes, Mister Market is not very reliable, because it is not uncommon for it to be volatile. Investors should look out for signs of growth expenditure that could justify low profit growth, and they may also find reasons why recent stock price developments don't confirm the growth outlook of operations. While operating growth indicators are not perfect, they are more reliable indicators for future performance than stock prices that can repeatedly surprise investors. ...read more
Safety Strategy: BancorpSouth Debt Financing Safety above-average
| SAFETY METRICS | March 6, 2025 | |||||||
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| LEVERAGE | ||||||||
| LEVERAGE | 9 |
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| REFINANCING | ||||||||
| REFINANCING | 23 |
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| LIQUIDITY | ||||||||
| LIQUIDITY | 87 |
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| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | ||||||||
| CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY | 54 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 54 (better than 54% compared with alternatives), the company BancorpSouth has financing practices on the safer side, which mean that their overall debt burden is lower than average. This doesn't mean that the business of BancorpSouth is safe, it only means that the company is on the safer side regarding possible bankruptcy, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for BancorpSouth. Liquidity is at 87, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 87% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 23, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 77% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 9, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 91% of its competitors. ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 54 (better than 54% compared with alternatives), BancorpSouth has a financing structure that is safer than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. ...read more
Combined financial peformance: BancorpSouth Above-Average Financial Performance
| COMBINED PERFORMANCE | March 6, 2025 | |||||||
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| VALUE | ||||||||
| VALUE | 31 |
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| GROWTH | ||||||||
| GROWTH | 51 |
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| SAFETY | ||||||||
| SAFETY | 87 |
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| COMBINED | ||||||||
| COMBINED | 60 |
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ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 60 (better than 60% compared with investment alternatives), BancorpSouth (Regional Banks, USA) shares have above-average financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of BancorpSouth are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 31 (worse than 69% of alternatives). But they show above-average growth (Growth Rank of 51) and are safely financed (Safety Rank of 54, which means below-average debt burdens). ...read more
RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 60, is a buy recommendation based on BancorpSouth's financial characteristics. Investors looking for growth and low financial risk may find this stock attractive. While the company BancorpSouth exhibits low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 31), which means that the stock price is rather high, it also demonstrates above-average growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 51). This is a typical case, as high-growth companies are often expensive. Good financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 54) are a double-edged sword: if the company continues growing, low debt limits shareholder returns. But if the company increases its debt, it will also increase risk. In other words, this is an investment on the safer side, despite the above-average price (low value). ...read more
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