Executive Summary

Q4 2024 EPS was $0.39 and net income was $3.5M, up 62% YoY on higher loan interest income and a credit loss benefit; net interest margin expanded to 2.38% (vs. 2.15% in Q4 2023 and 2.21% in Q3 2024) .
Management guided FY2025 EPS to $1.72–$1.82, citing margin tailwinds from repricing lower-yielding investments and loans; share repurchases continued into January and a $0.20 dividend was declared in November 2024 .
Efficiency improved sequentially in Q4 (71.47% vs. 77.87% in Q3), while noninterest expense rose 5% YoY on salaries/benefits; substandard and substandard-impaired loans increased YoY on commercial real estate softness .
Consensus estimates (EPS and revenue) from S&P Global were unavailable at time of writing due to request limits; results cannot be benchmarked vs. street for Q4 2024.

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

Net interest income grew 10.5% YoY to $12.1M and net interest margin expanded to 2.38%, driven by higher loan yields and portfolio growth; deposits repriced but were offset by investment maturities funding lower-cost balance sheet actions .
Credit loss swung to a benefit of ($130)K vs. a $755K expense YoY, reflecting reductions in specific reserves and lower off-balance-sheet exposures; net charge-offs were $447K vs. $36K YoY .
Management tone on 2025 earnings: “The Company is forecasting earnings for the year ending December 31, 2025 in the range of $1.72 to $1.82 per share… primarily due to an improved net interest margin as lower yielding investments and loans are expected to reprice at higher market rates.” .

Substandard loans rose to $35.5M from $18.4M YoY, with substandard-impaired at $14.2M vs. $13.2M, driven by weakening in commercial real estate occupancy and collateral values .
Noninterest expense increased 5.2% YoY to $10.5M on higher salaries/benefits; efficiency ratio, while improved vs. Q3, remained elevated relative to year-ago levels .
Deposit mix continued shifting to higher-rate products, lifting deposit interest expense by $0.7M YoY and sustaining funding cost pressure despite reductions in other borrowings .

Metric	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
EPS ($)	$0.24	$0.25	$0.39
Net Income ($000)	$2,139	$2,217	$3,513
Total Interest & Dividend Income ($000)	$19,856	$20,712	$21,249
Net Interest Income ($000)	$10,965	$11,077	$12,121
Noninterest Income ($000)	$2,286	$2,413	$2,628
Total Noninterest Expense ($000)	$10,017	$10,505	$10,541
Net Interest Margin (%)	2.15%	2.21%	2.38%
Efficiency Ratio (%)	75.59%	77.87%	71.47%
Income Tax Expense ($000)	$340	$397	$825
Effective Tax Rate (%)	14%	15%	19%

KPIs and Balance Sheet Indicators

KPI	Q4 2023	Q3 2024	Q4 2024
Loans Receivable, Net ($000)	$1,277,812	$1,295,773	$1,303,917
Deposits ($000)	$1,811,831	$1,801,721	$1,846,682
Other Borrowings ($000)	$110,588	$83,101	$46,952
Substandard Loans ($000)	$18,400	$—	$35,500
Substandard-Impaired Loans ($000)	$13,200	$—	$14,200
Net Loan Charge-offs ($000, quarter)	$36	$10	$447

Notes:

Substandard/Impaired loans are presented as year-end snapshot metrics (no Q3 presentation in Q4 press release) .

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
EPS ($)	FY 2025	N/A	$1.72–$1.82	Initiated
Net Interest Margin	FY 2025	N/A	“Improved” expected from repricing lower-yield assets	Directional improvement
Dividend ($/share)	Q4 2024	N/A	$0.20 declared Nov 13, 2024; payable Feb 14, 2025	Announced
Dividend Schedule	2025	Previously: declare in one quarter, pay next	Expect declaring and paying in same quarter; intend to defer decision on declaring Q2 2025 dividend	Schedule changed; Q2 decision deferred
Share Repurchase	Q4 2024–Jan 2025	Program capacity 100,000 shares	Repurchased 43,057 shares in Q4 (avg $16.35); 33,553 shares Jan 1–24 (avg $16.41); 23,390 remaining	Active; remaining capacity

No earnings call transcript was found for Q4 2024. Themes below are synthesized from the Q2/Q3 10-Qs and Q4 press release.

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q2 2024)	Previous Mentions (Q3 2024)	Current Period (Q4 2024)	Trend
Funding Costs & Deposit Mix	Higher deposit and borrowing costs; shift to time deposits/public funds	Continued shift to higher-rate deposit products	Deposit interest expense +$0.7M YoY; mix shift persists	Ongoing cost pressure
Net Interest Margin (NIM)	NIM 2.14% (FTE); loan yields rising	NIM 2.21% (FTE)	NIM 2.38%; guidance for further improvement	Improving
Credit Losses & Asset Quality	Credit loss expense $182K; CRE risk factor increased; substandard-impaired down vs. YE23	Credit loss expense $371K; specific reserves on commercial portfolio	Credit loss benefit ($130K); net charge-offs $447K; substandard loans up on CRE softness	Mixed: benefit in Q4, CRE risk rising
Borrowings & Liquidity	BTFP $37.75M; FHLB $45M; liquidity satisfactory	Other borrowings $83.1M; capacity intact	Other borrowings cut to $46.95M; investments used to reduce borrowings	Deleveraging
Wealth Management Income	Increased estate fees	Stable/increasing	Up 15% YoY on AUM growth/new relationships	Positive

“The increase in earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 is primarily due to an increase in loan interest income and lower credit loss expense.”
“Proceeds from maturing lower yielding investments have also been used to pay down higher cost borrowing and fund loan growth.”
“The Company is forecasting earnings for the year ending December 31, 2025 in the range of $1.72 to $1.82 per share… primarily due to an improved net interest margin as lower yielding investments and loans are expected to reprice at higher market rates.”

No Q4 2024 earnings call transcript was available; therefore, no Q&A themes or clarifications could be extracted.

Wall Street consensus EPS and revenue (S&P Global Capital IQ) for Q4 2024 were unavailable due to request limits at time of analysis. As a result, we cannot determine a beat/miss versus consensus for EPS or revenue for this quarter.
Expect estimate revisions to reflect: (1) stronger-than-expected margin expansion in Q4 and management’s FY2025 EPS range ($1.72–$1.82), and (2) CRE risk disclosures and rising substandard balances potentially tempering credit-cost assumptions .

Margin expansion is taking hold: NIM reached 2.38% and management expects further improvement as lower-yield assets reprice; this is a key near-term earnings driver .
Credit quality requires monitoring: Substandard and substandard-impaired loans increased YoY on CRE softness (occupancy and collateral valuations); watch for provisioning trends and charge-offs in 2025 .
Funding costs remain a headwind: Deposit mix continues shifting to higher-rate products; while other borrowings fell, deposit repricing will influence NIM trajectory .
Capital returns in focus: Active share repurchases (76,610 shares cumulatively through Jan 24, 2025) and a $0.20 quarterly dividend provide support; note the change to declare/pay in same quarter and Q2 2025 dividend decision deferral .
Efficiency improved sequentially; continued expense discipline (post consultant fees in 2024) could enhance operating leverage if margin tailwinds persist .
Wealth management momentum (AUM growth/new relationships) is adding to diversified fee income and partially offsets rate-driven net interest dynamics .
Near-term trading implications: Positive sentiment from FY2025 EPS range and NIM guidance, tempered by CRE risk disclosures; absence of consensus benchmarking limits immediate beat/miss narratives .