Finance Stocks Archive

Are Bank Stocks Safe?

One of the most frequent topics I'm asked about is bank stocks and whether they're now safe to own. Even though many banks, like Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Well Fargo (WFC) are now rated A or B on Portfolio Grader, many of these banks have been conducting secondary stock offerings to repay their TARP money, which will likely impede their near-term performance.

Bank United Fails

The banking sector isn't in the clear just yet. Bank United (BKUNA) just became the 34th bank failure of the year, but it's also the largest one yet.

Bank of America Is a Buy

The results of the recent stress test said that Bank of America (BAC) needs to raise $34 billion. The bank just completed a massive secondary offering. Bank of America issued 1.25 billion shares at an average price of $10.77. To raise even more money, the bank plans to sell off some divisions and subsidiaries.

The Stress Test Is Over–What's Next?

Last week, the government released the results of its bank stress test. Wall Street seems relieved but I still have some problems with how the tests were conducted.

The Results of the Navellier Bank Stress Test

The results of the government's stress test on several leading banks are due on Thursday. Before we see the official results, here are the ratings my team and I have given to the 18 publicly traded banks undergoing the test.

Midday Market Update

Today is May Day and many stock exchanges are closed around the world. It's been a fairly quite day on Wall Street. As of noon, the major indexes are holding on to small gains. One economic report showed that the April ISM rose to 40.1 from 36.3, a bit above the consensus 38.4 and the highest reading since September. This is good news, but the ISM will probably stumble in future months due to the plant shutdowns at GM and Chrysler. The Federal Reserve said today that it will reveal the results of its stress test on May 7. The idea of the stress test is to see how well the nation's largest banks will hold up if the recession worsens. Of course, I'm more worried about how the U.S. government will hold up if the economy worsens.

Bank of America Shows Improvement

The stock market is down this morning but that's not a big surprise since Wall Street has rallied for six straight weeks. In addition to the Oracle-Sun Micro news, Bank of America (BAC) posted good Q1 earnings. The bank earned $2.8 billion or 44 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting just four cents a share.

Finally Some Good News from Citigroup

For the first time in 18 months, Citigroup (C) earned a profit. The bank made $1.59 billion in the first quarter. For last year's first quarter, they lost $5.11 billion. The bank had a private stock offering so the money that actually went to shareholders was a loss of $966 million or 18 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting a loss of 34 cents a share. I still have Citigroup rated as "C - Hold."

Time to Buy Banks?

For the first time in 18 months, Citigroup (C) earned a profit. The bank made $1.59 billion in the first quarter. For last year's first quarter, they lost $5.11 billion. The bank had a private stock offering so the money that actually went to shareholders was a loss of $966 million or 18 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting a loss of 34 cents a share. I still have Citigroup rated as "C - Hold."

JPMorgan Chase Tops the Street

The stock market was helped this morning by good news from JPMorgan Chase (JPM). The bank earned 40 cents a share for the first quarter which was eight cents more than Wall Street was expecting. Like other banks, JPM said it wants to pay back its TARP money as soon as it can. Interestingly, CEO Jamie Dimon said they won't participate in Secretary Geithner's private/public investment plan to buy toxic assets, as a buyer or a seller.

Goldman Reports Stronger-Than-Expected Earnings

After yesterday's closing bell, Goldman Sachs (GS) surprised Wall Street by announcing its earnings report one day ahead of schedule--and those earnings were very good. Goldman said it made $1.81 billion last quarter or $3.39 a share which is up from the $1.51 billion, or $3.23 a share it made in the same quarter one year ago. Wall Street was expecting earnings of just $1.59 a share.

Wells Fargo Stuns the Street

Wall Street got a big surprise last week when Wells Fargo said that it expects to post first-quarter earnings of $3 billion. The earnings are due to more mortgages, plus the bank wants the government off its back.

Wells Fargo Guides Higher

For several months I've been telling investors to avoid financial stocks. One of the few that I've liked has been Wells Fargo (WFC). Today, the bank said it expects to reports earnings of $3 billion or 55 cents a share. The Street was only expecting 23 cents a share. That's a big surprise. As a result, the shares are up strongly this morning.

Q&A: Bank of American Is a Bust

How can Bank of America survive the credit crisis? In my opinion, it can't.

JPMorgan Chase Slashes Dividend By 87%

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) surprised Wall Street by announcing an 87% cut in its quarterly dividend. The bank will now pay five cents a share each quarter, down from 38 cents a share previously. The company said that this move will allow them to save $5 billion a year.

Top Stocks for President's Day

The stock market is closed on Monday for President's Day. In honor of the holiday, I'm giving you four top stock picks for a President's Day Portfolio – one for each member of Mount Rushmore.

My Take on Bank of America

I've never trusted Bank of America (BAC) under Ken Lewis, which is rated "D - Sell" in PortfolioGrader Pro. The reason for my distrust is that the bank has always tried to massage its earnings numbers each quarter. I can't stand when companies try to do that.