Niche lender offers growth at a discount

Article Excerpt

HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC. $43 (Toronto symbol HCG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 70.2 million; Market cap; $3.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.2; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. homecapital.com) provides mortgages to borrowers who don’t meet the stricter standards of larger, traditional lenders, like banks. Clients include self-employed people and recent immigrants with limited credit histories. Low interest rates continue to fuel mortgage demand. As a result, Home Capital’s revenue rose 47.6%, from $687.2 million in 2010 to $1.01 billion in 2014. Earnings jumped 86.4%, from $154.8 million to $288.4 million, while per-share profits gained 84.2%, from $2.22 to $4.09. In the first quarter of 2015, the company’s revenue rose 0.5%, to $249.2 million from $247.9 million a year earlier. Earnings gained 3.7%, to $72.3 million, or $1.03 a share, from $69.7 million, or $1.00. Humans beat computers Unlike regular banks, which rely on computers to evaluate risk, Home Capital’s employees investigate and verify borrowers’ financial information. This takes longer…