Looking Past Some Messy Quarters, Cadence Bank Is Worth A Look

 

The merger between Cadence Bancorp and BancorpSouth, which now operates as Cadence Bank (CADE), is a good example of the trade-off of short-term pain for longer-term gains. There will be a couple of messy quarters as analysts dial in their models and as the operational combination progresses, but the long-term advantages of a strong commercial loan operation in growth markets of the South and solid core deposit franchises from more sedate, less competitive, markets are compelling.

Shares are up more than 65% since my last write-up and have handily beat even the solid performance of smaller regional banks over that time. Although the return potential isn't as compelling as it was there, I think there's an argument for a mid-to-high-$30's share price, and this is still a bank worth a closer look.

 

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Looking Past Some Messy Quarters, Cadence Bank Is Worth A Look