Lewis & Clark Bancorp (OTC:LWCL) Stock In Focus After Recent News
The announcement of financial results is almost always seen as a major development by most investors and can often lead to attention for a company’s stock. Last Thursday, Lewis & Clark Bancorp (OTC:LWCL) came into focus after it announced its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter of 2023 and also the consolidated year-to-date financial results.
The quarter-to-date income for the three months ended on December 31, 2023, stood at $191,000, and that reflected a significant drop from the net income of $617,000 for the corresponding period in 2022. Additionally, the earnings per share for the quarter came in at $0.18, which was a substantial drop from the earnings per share of $0.57 in the prior year quarter. Lewis & Clark Bancorp revealed that the full-year net loss that it had suffered for 2023 had primarily been brought about by the pre-tax loss of $3.2 million from the sale of investment securities.
Due to the rapid and historic rise in interest rates coupled with the negative net interest margin that had been generated from the investment portfolio, the Lewis & Clark Bancorp management completed the sale of fixed-rate investment securities worth $72.9 million. However, the securities were sold for $69.7 million, which thereby led to a pre-tax loss of $3.2 million.
The company noted that the lion’s share of the sales proceeds had been reinvested by Lewis & Clark Bancorp into investment securities with a higher yield. The rest had been put into interest-bearing cash balances. There were some other factors that ought to be kept in mind with regards to the sale. It increased future earnings, boosted liquidity on the balance sheet, and provided the company with a more flexible position in terms of interest rate risks.
