Small lender less risky than it seems

Article Excerpt

HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC. $50 (Toronto symbol HCG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 34.7 million; Market cap; $2.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.8; Dividend yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.homecapital.com) offers mortgages to borrowers who don’t meet the stricter criteria of larger, traditional lenders. Even though Home Capital caters to riskier borrowers, it has avoided the huge credit losses that have crippled many U.S. banks. That’s because it continues to do a good job of identifying problem loans early. It then uses this information to restructure a borrower’s repayment terms and adjust its lending policies. Home mortgages account for 90% of the company’s loan portfolio. The remaining 10% consists of other loans, such as non-residential mortgages and credit cards. Home Capital offers its loans through five retail branches in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Halifax. Big gains in revenue and earnings Home Capital’s revenue rose 89.0%, from $282.5 million in 2006 to $533.9 million in 2010. Earnings rose 166.7%,…