Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now

tags:PBIB,IVZ,BCS,RPT,CATY,BOFI,SAR,NC,BNCL,VRTS, What happened

Shares of Opko Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:OPK) closed 14.9% lower on Friday. Trading in the stock was halted one week ago after the company and its CEO, Phillip Frost, were charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with fraud. Opko shares resumed trading today, which prompted a further sell-off in the wake of the scandal.

So what

The SEC's allegations are really serious. Frost and Opko Health were among 10 individuals and 10 associated entities accused of manipulating the share prices of microcap stocks in what is commonly referred to as "pump-and-dump" schemes.

Image source: Getty Images.

When highly public scandals involving top executives emerge, it is a legitimate reason for investors to decide to bail out on a stock. It's even worse when the company itself is charged (although Opko notes that this SEC complaint does not contain any allegations about company-specific financial or business practices). That's exactly what has happened with Opko.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Porter Bancorp Inc.(PBIB)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Media stories about Porter Bancorp (NASDAQ:PBIB) have trended somewhat positive this week, Accern Sentiment reports. Accern identifies negative and positive news coverage by analyzing more than twenty million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Porter Bancorp earned a media sentiment score of 0.07 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave news coverage about the financial services provider an impact score of 44.3359026173577 out of 100, indicating that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the near future.

• [By WWW.GURUFOCUS.COM]

  For the details of PATRIOT FINANCIAL PARTNERS GP, LP's stock buys and sells, go to http://www.gurufocus.com/StockBuy.php?GuruName=PATRIOT+FINANCIAL+PARTNERS+GP%2C+LP

  These are the top 5 holdings of PATRIOT FINANCIAL PARTNERS GP, LPBanc of California Inc (BANC) - 2,850,564 shares, 32.49% of the total portfolio. Meta Financial Group Inc (CASH) - 397,069 shares, 25.6% of the total portfolio. Guaranty Bancorp (GBNK) - 1,391,767 shares, 23.3% of the total portfolio. MBT Financial Corp (MBTF) - 2,060,302 shares, 13.08% of the total portfolio. Sterling Bancorp (STL) - 323,980 shares, 4.31% of the total portfolio.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Invesco Plc(IVZ)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) traded down about 3.3% Thursday to set a new 52-week low of $23.25 after closing at $24.05 on Wednesday. The stock’s 52-week high is $38.43. Volume was 25% above the daily average of around 4 million. The company reported month-over-month assets under management growth of less than 0.1% as of the end of August after markets closed Wednesday.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  First Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ) by 3,311.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,844 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,321 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Invesco were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Invesco (IVZ)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Invesco Ltd. (NYSE:IVZ)’s share price fell 5.1% during trading on Thursday after Deutsche Bank lowered their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $27.00. Deutsche Bank currently has a buy rating on the stock. Invesco traded as low as $20.02 and last traded at $20.07. 11,476,202 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 193% from the average session volume of 3,914,834 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.14.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Invesco Ltd. (NYSE: IVZ) traded down about 4.1% Monday and posted a new 52-week low of $26.37 after closing Friday at $27.51. The stock’s 52-week high is $38.43. Volume totaled about 7.1 million, more than double the daily average of around  3.3 million. The investment management firm launched a European ETF that gives investors exposure to Saudi Arabia.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Barclays PLC(BCS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Barclays PLC (NYSE:BCS) major shareholder Plc Barclays sold 62,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.63, for a total value of $351,255.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own 10% or more of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

• [By Zacks]

  Last week, Barclays (NYSE: BCS) acquired £4.3 billion ($5.8 billion) worth of Irish residential mortgage loans from Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE: LYG). The portfolio comprises around 27,000 mortgages, originated between 2004 and 2010. Of the total loans acquired, nearly £300 million are impaired.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Press coverage about Barclays (NYSE:BCS) has trended somewhat positive recently, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. The research firm scores the sentiment of press coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real time. Accern ranks coverage of public companies on a scale of -1 to 1, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Barclays earned a daily sentiment score of 0.17 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned media coverage about the financial services provider an impact score of 45.4019094998773 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the company’s share price in the near term.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust(RPT)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Shane Hupp]

  KeyCorp set a $15.00 price target on Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT) in a research note published on Wednesday. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the real estate investment trust’s stock. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust’s Q3 2018 earnings at $0.32 EPS, Q4 2018 earnings at $0.32 EPS, FY2018 earnings at $1.29 EPS, Q1 2019 earnings at $0.32 EPS, Q2 2019 earnings at $0.31 EPS, Q3 2019 earnings at $0.32 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.32 EPS and FY2019 earnings at $1.27 EPS.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT) was downgraded by equities research analysts at ValuEngine from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

• [By Max Byerly]

  Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust (NYSE:RPT) was upgraded by research analysts at ValuEngine from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Cathay General Bancorp(CATY)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Aurora Investment Counsel bought a new position in shares of Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 43,515 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,803,000. Aurora Investment Counsel owned 0.05% of Cathay General Bancorp as of its most recent SEC filing.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) – Equities research analysts at Piper Jaffray Companies reduced their Q4 2018 EPS estimates for shares of Cathay General Bancorp in a research report issued on Wednesday, July 18th. Piper Jaffray Companies analyst M. Clark now anticipates that the bank will post earnings of $0.76 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.79. Piper Jaffray Companies also issued estimates for Cathay General Bancorp’s Q3 2019 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q4 2019 earnings at $0.90 EPS, FY2019 earnings at $3.50 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $0.89 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $3.65 EPS.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Cathay General Bancorp (CATY)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: BofI Holding Inc.(BOFI)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  The year was 1999 and "internet" stocks were all the rage. On opposite sides of the country, two banks -- BofI Holding (NASDAQ:BOFI) and First Internet Bancorp (NASDAQ:INBK) -- were both betting on a business model of asset-light internet banking. Nearly two decades later, one of these banks has grown into a $2.6 billion force to be contended with, while the other lags behind with a market cap of less than $350 million.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on BofI (BOFI)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Matthew Frankel, Neha Chamaria, and Matthew DiLallo]

  While there's no way to know for sure which stocks will become the next Amazon, three of our contributors think BofI Holding (NASDAQ:BOFI), XPO Logistics (NYSE:XPO), and iQiyi (NASDAQ:IQ) have pretty good chances.

• [By ]

  Bank of Internet (BOFI) : "I would hold that. I do like the major banks more right here."

  Melco Resorts (MLCO) : "No, no, I like MGM Resorts (MGM) ."

• [By Peter Graham]

  Small cap diversified financial services stock BofI Holding (NASDAQ: BOFI) has elevated short interest of 36.43% according to Highshortinterest.com. BofI Holding is the holding company for BofI Federal Bank, a nationwide bank that provides financing for single and multifamily residential properties, small-to-medium size businesses in target sectors, and selected specialty finance receivables. With approximately $8.6 billion in assets, BofI Federal Bank provides consumer and business banking products through its low-cost distribution channels and affinity partners. BofI Holding is a component of the Russell 2000 Index, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, and the KBW Nasdaq Financial Technology Index. Bank of Internet USA is the oldest and most trusted FDIC-insured internet bank in America and is a division of BofI Federal Bank. It was one of the first banks to offer banking services exclusively online.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Saratoga Investment Corp(SAR)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Max Byerly]

  Headlines about Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) have been trending somewhat positive this week, according to Accern Sentiment. Accern rates the sentiment of media coverage by analyzing more than 20 million news and blog sources. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to positive one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Saratoga Investment earned a daily sentiment score of 0.17 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave headlines about the financial services provider an impact score of 45.4912059514825 out of 100, meaning that recent media coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the company’s share price in the near future.

• [By Shane Hupp]

  Media stories about Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) have trended somewhat positive on Friday, Accern Sentiment Analysis reports. The research firm rates the sentiment of press coverage by reviewing more than 20 million blog and news sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores nearest to one being the most favorable. Saratoga Investment earned a daily sentiment score of 0.07 on Accern’s scale. Accern also assigned press coverage about the financial services provider an impact score of 45.7589775169552 out of 100, indicating that recent press coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an impact on the stock’s share price in the immediate future.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  ValuEngine downgraded shares of Saratoga Investment (NYSE:SAR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

  A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. National Securities reiterated a neutral rating and set a $24.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Saratoga Investment from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 2nd. Finally, B. Riley initiated coverage on shares of Saratoga Investment in a research note on Tuesday, March 27th. They set a buy rating and a $23.50 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Saratoga Investment presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $24.38.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Saratoga Investment Corp (NYSE:SAR) – Equities research analysts at B. Riley dropped their Q3 2019 EPS estimates for shares of Saratoga Investment in a report issued on Thursday, August 23rd. B. Riley analyst T. Hayes now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings of $0.54 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.55. B. Riley also issued estimates for Saratoga Investment’s Q2 2020 earnings at $0.58 EPS.

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Saratoga Investment (SAR)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Get a free copy of the Zacks research report on Saratoga Investment (SAR)

  For more information about research offerings from Zacks Investment Research, visit Zacks.com

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: New Century Bancorp Inc.(NC)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Stephan Byrd]

  Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) and NACCO Industries (NYSE:NC) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Beneficial Mutual Bancorp Inc.(BNCL)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Media coverage about Beneficial Bancorp (NASDAQ:BNCL) has trended positive recently, according to Accern. Accern identifies positive and negative news coverage by monitoring more than twenty million news and blog sources in real-time. Accern ranks coverage of publicly-traded companies on a scale of negative one to one, with scores closest to one being the most favorable. Beneficial Bancorp earned a news impact score of 0.38 on Accern’s scale. Accern also gave media headlines about the bank an impact score of 45.8699493506664 out of 100, meaning that recent news coverage is somewhat unlikely to have an effect on the stock’s share price in the next several days.

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  Beneficial Bancorp Inc (NASDAQ:BNCL) Director Thomas J. Lewis sold 973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.50, for a total value of $16,054.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

• [By Logan Wallace]

  Beneficial Bancorp (NASDAQ: BNCL) and Home Bancorp (NASDAQ:HBCP) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends and valuation.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  Entegra Financial (NASDAQ: BNCL) and Beneficial Bancorp (NASDAQ:BNCL) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BidaskClub upgraded shares of Beneficial Bancorp (NASDAQ:BNCL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

  Shares of Beneficial Bancorp opened at $16.35 on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.55. Beneficial Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $14.40 and a fifty-two week high of $17.50.

Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Virtus Investment Partners Inc.(VRTS)

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Motley Fool Transcribers]

  Virtus Investment Partners Inc  (NASDAQ:VRTS)Q4 2018 Earnings Conference CallFeb. 01, 2019, 10:00 a.m. ET

  Contents: Prepared Remarks Questions and Answers Call Participants Prepared Remarks:

  Operator

• [By Joseph Griffin]

  BidaskClub lowered shares of Virtus Investment Partners (NASDAQ:VRTS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

  A number of other research firms also recently commented on VRTS. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $147.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, March 15th. Sandler O’Neill restated a hold rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Virtus Investment Partners in a report on Thursday, March 15th. TheStreet downgraded Virtus Investment Partners from a b rating to a c+ rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $136.00 to $135.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Virtus Investment Partners from $140.00 to $130.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Virtus Investment Partners presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $138.13.

• [By Ethan Ryder]

  BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. grew its holdings in Virtus Investment Partners Inc (NASDAQ:VRTS) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,490 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the period. BW Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. owned about 0.13% of Virtus Investment Partners worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.