Glacier Bancorp: Expensive For A Reason

  • Glacier Bancorp's earnings growth is highly visible, driven by M&A activity and the gradual roll-off of low-yielding securities. The Guaranty Bancshares acquisition expands GBCI into Texas, diversifies its loan book, and should be immediately accretive to EPS. Despite strong fundamentals and improving margins, GBCI trades at a significant premium (about 20x forward earnings), already reflecting expected growth.