CNB Financial CCNE shares rallied 6.2% in the last trading session to close at $22.18. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 2.2% loss over the past four weeks.

The Federal Reserve has signaled an end to the current rate hike cycle by keeping interest rates unchanged at the 22-year high of 5.25-5.5% at the end of the two-day FOMC meeting. The central bank has also indicated a 75 basis points cut in rates by 2024-end. The above-mentioned developments have attributed to bullish investor sentiments. Given the fall in rates, the higher funding costs being faced by banks will likely come down somewhat next year, thus supporting net interest income and margins. This probably drove the CCNE stock higher in last day’s trading session.

This bank holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -22.9%. Revenues are expected to be $55.1 million, down 7.9% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For CNB, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on CCNE going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

CNB belongs to the Zacks Banks - Northeast industry. Another stock from the same industry, MainStreet Bank MNSB, closed the last trading session 8.9% higher at $24.09. Over the past month, MNSB has returned -0.8%.

MainStreet Bank's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.72. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -24.2%. MainStreet Bank currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

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CNB Financial Corporation (CCNE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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