Today's news from the financial markets was mixed regarding the U.S. economic outlook, with rising confidence levels from homebuilders inching closer to outright optimism. Moreover, prices at the wholesale level posted another sharp drop in April following a similar decline in March that brought year-over-year price gains to just 0.6%. Yet those developments were offset by a bigger-than-expected drop in industrial production and an unexpected decline in New York regional manufacturing activity, which helped restrain the stock market. As of 10:55 a.m. EDT, the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI ) are down a mere five points. The broader market is also flat, signaling a pause in the latest record-breaking run for the S&P 500 and Dow in recent weeks.
Leading the decliners in the Dow is Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ ) , which has fallen 2.1%. IDC released projections forecasting a slower rate of growth in worldwide IT spending. This could pose a threat to HP's turnaround strategy, which hinges on its ability to widen its customer base and pull in revenue from a broader range of business segments. IDC blamed weak PC shipments for the slowdown, confirming a separate report showing a decline of more than 20% in Western European PC shipments during the first quarter of 2013 compared with the year-ago quarter. HP will need to accelerate its efforts to go beyond PCs if it wants to grow faster in the future.
Hot Safest Stocks For 2015: iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC)
iShares Russell Microcap Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell Microcap Index (the Index). The Index measures the micro-cap sector of the United States equity market and consists of those securities having the highest historical trading volumes of that index. The Index is a capitalization-weighted index and includes companies ranging in total market capitalization from approximately $50 million to $550 million.
The Index represents approximately 3% of the market capitalization of listed United States equity securities. The Fund uses a representative sampling strategy in seeking to track the Index. iShares Russell Microcap Index Fund's investment advisor is Barclays Global Fund Advisors.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jim Fink]
Simply buying a small-cap ETF like the iShares Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) of the iShares Russell Microcap (NYSE: IWC) doesn’t work. Over the past 11 years, the Russell 2000 index (median market cap of $460 million) has declined in January seven times (64% of the time) and has actually performed worse than the S&P 500 a majority of the time (6 out of 11). The Russell Microcap index (median market cap of $152 million) has only been around for seven Januarys (since 2006) and it has underperformed the S&P 500 in four of those years (a majority of the time). December relative performance has been no better for IWM, which underperformed the S&P 500 a majority of the time over the past 11 years, but IWC has done much better in December, outperforming the S&P 500 in each of its first seven years of existence. Like I said earlier, however, microcap “gains” are suspect.
- [By Richard Moroney]
Micro-cap ETFs, which typically focus on stocks with market values below $500 million, can be volatile, but represent a nice diversifier for most portfolios. Up 35% this year, iShares Micro-Cap (IWC) is worth consideration.
- [By Mark Hulbert]
Fosback nevertheless favors the microcap category for the seasonal portfolio he recommends to clients, though not by buying and selling individual stocks. Instead, he prefers the iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC) �, with an expense ratio of 0.72%. The fund replicates the performance of the smallest 1,000 stocks in the Russell 2000 Index (RUT) �; the average market cap of the stocks it owns is $420 million.
Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (HRZN)
Horizon Technology Finance Corporation, a specialty finance company, lends to and invests in development-stage companies in the United States. It provides secured loans to companies backed by established venture capital and private equity firms in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and cleantech industries. Horizon Technology Finance Corporation was founded in 2008 and is based in Farmington, Connecticut.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By BDC Buzz]
I believe investors should look past the current low dividend yields and relatively higher multiples of NAV per share for BDCs such as FDUS, MAIN, and TCAP, but should consider the total return for these companies. The table below compares FDUS and MAIN to both ACAS which does not pay dividends and Horizon Technology Finance (HRZN) that pays a higher than average dividend but after taking into account dividend growth, special dividends, and NAV per share growth (using last twelve months actual for projection purposes) it is clear that the expected investor return is based on more than the current dividend yield.
Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Market Vectors Poland ETF (PLND)
Market Vectors Poland ETF (the Fund) seeks to replicate the price and yield performance of the Market Vectors Poland Index (the Index). The Index is a diversified index consisting of at least 25 companies either headquartered in Poland or deriving at least 50% of their revenues from Poland. It invest in sectors, such as financials, energy, industrials, consumer staples, telecomm services, materials, consumer discretionary, utilities, information technology and healthcare. The Fund�� investment advisor is Van Eck Associates Corporation. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Benjamin Shepherd]
Market Vectors Poland (NYSE: PLND) is a great exchange traded fund (ETF) play on the continued strength of the Polish economy.
Financial services figure prominently in the ETF�� holdings at 44 percent of assets, but that�� lower than other competing products and largely reflective of the major role the financial sector plays in Poland�� economy. More than 23 percent of assets are allocated to basic materials and energy due to the country�� resource wealth.
The ETF is also relatively cheap with an expense ratio of just 0.61 percent. It also offers the added benefit of a nearly 3.2 percent yield, thanks to the tradition of Polish stocks paying stable dividends.
What�� more, the fund is inexpensive in terms of valuation because it price has been depressed by the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Both countries have historically been Russian satellites, but Poland was quick to integrate itself with Western Europe after the country�� communist government fell in 1989. As a result, it enjoys the diplomatic cover of the EU and the military protection of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, making it unlikely that Russia will interfere in the country�� politics.
Despite those protections, the fund�� price-to-forward-earnings ratio has fallen from about 19 to just 14 over the past few weeks and shares are now trading at book value. Shares are also trading at just 0.58 times sales, a substantial discount to the fund�� historical valuation largely due to regional concerns.
Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: BV Financial Inc (BVFL)
BV Financial, Inc. (BV Financial), is a federally-chartered savings and loan holding company and the holding company for Bay-Vanguard Federal, a federally-chartered savings bank. BV Financial�� business activity is the ownership of the Bay-Vanguard Federal. The Company operates as a community-oriented financial institution offering traditional financial services to consumers and businesses in its market area. It attracts deposits from the general public and uses those funds to originate one- to four-family real estate, mobile home, construction, multi-family, commercial real estate, and consumer loans, which it hold for investment. The Company operates two branch offices in Baltimore City and two branch offices in Anne Arundel County. In June 2013, BV Financial Inc's Bay-Vanguard Federal Savings Bank acquired Vigilant Federal Savings Bank.
Lending Activities
The Company�� loan portfolio consists primarily of one- to four-family residential real estate loans. Its loan portfolio includes mobile home loans, construction loans, multi-family, commercial real estate loans, and consumer loans. As of June 30, 2009, Bay-Vanguard Federal had no loans that were held for sale. Its primary lending activity is the origination of mortgage loans to enable borrowers to purchase or refinance existing homes in its market area. It only offer fixed and adjustable rate mortgage loans and primarily with terms of 15, 20 or 30 years. The Company also offers adjustable-rate mortgage loans with interest rates and payments that adjust annually or every three years.
The Company originates mobile home loans directly and purchase mobile home loans from Forward National and Mainland Financial, which specialize in mobile home lending. As of June 30, 2009, 13.6% of its mobile home portfolio was originated by directly and 70.4% and 16% was purchased from Forward National and Mainland Financial, respectively. As of June 30, 2009, it had 340 mobile home loans, the average size of which was appr! oximately $34,000. Its mobile home loans, which are made primarily to borrowers in Maryland and Pennsylvania, have terms of up to 25 years and fixed interest rates. It originates loans to individuals and, to a lesser extent, builders to finance the construction of residential dwellings. It also make construction loans for commercial development projects, including condominiums, apartment buildings, mixed-use properties with residential units, as well as retail space and owner-occupied properties used for business.
The Company offers fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgage loans secured by multi-family and commercial real estate. Its multi-family and commercial real estate loans are secured by condominiums, apartment buildings and mixed-use properties with residential units, as well as retail space. It originates multi-family and commercial real estate loans for terms up to 25 years. The Company�� other consumer loans are primarily loans secured by passbook or certificate accounts, automobile and boat loans and secured personal loans.
Investment Activities
The Company has legal authority to invest in various types of liquid assets, including the United States Treasury obligations, securities of various federal agencies and municipal governments, deposits at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta and certificates of deposit of federally insured institutions. As of June 30, 2009, its investment portfolio totaled $13.8 million and consisted primarily of the United States Treasury obligations and federal agency securities, mortgage-backed securities issued primarily by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae, and a mutual fund that invests in adjustable-rate mortgages.
Deposit Activities and Other Sources of Funds
Deposits and loan repayments are the major sources of its funds for lending and other investment purposes. The Company�� deposits are attracted from within its market area through the offering of selection of deposit instruments,! includin! g checking accounts, negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) and money market accounts, passbook and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. As of June 30, 2009, its core deposits, which consist of savings, NOW and money market accounts, consists 49% of its deposits.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By CRWE]
Today, BVFL remains (0.00%) +0.000 at $6.52 thus far (ref. google finance Delayed: 3:05PM EDT September 4, 2013).
BV Financial, Inc. previously reported net income of $488,000, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the year ended June 30, 2013 compared to $1,073,000, or $0.46 per diluted share, for the year ended June 30, 2012. Results for 2013 were impacted by the acquisition of Vigilant Federal Savings Bank on May 31, 2013. As a result of the acquisition, BV Financial acquired $47.5 million in assets, $44.4 million in liabilities and created $119,000 in goodwill.
Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: Akbank TAS (AKBNK)
Akbank TAS (Akbank) is a Turkey-based commercial bank. The Bank operates in five segments: the Retail banking segment offers a range of retail services, such as deposit accounts, consumer loans, commercial installment loans, credit cards, insurance products and asset management services; the Corporate and Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME) banking segment provides financial solutions and banking services to large, medium and small size corporate and commercial customers; the Treasury Activities segment conducts regional and foreign currency spot and forward transactions, treasury bonds, government bonds, Eurobond and private sector bond transactions, as well as derivative trading activities; the Private banking segment offers banking and investment transactions for upper-income groups, and the International banking segment provides services for foreign trade financing, foreign currency and Turkish Lira (TL) clearances, and money transfers through agent financial institutions. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Julia Leite]
Turkey�� equity benchmark rallied as Turkiye Garanti Bankasi AS and Akbank TAS (AKBNK) advanced at least 5.4 percent. The lira gained for the fourth day.
Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: ASB Bancorp Inc (ASBB)
ASB Bancorp, Inc. (ASB Bancorp), incorporated in May 2011, focuses to become the holding company for Asheville Savings Bank, S.S.B. (Asheville Savings Bank). ASB Bancorp, Inc.�� business activity will be the ownership of the Asheville Savings Bank. Asheville Savings Bank is a chartered savings bank. It operates as a community-oriented financial institution offering traditional financial services to consumers and businesses in its market area. It attracts deposits from the general public and use those funds to originate one-to four-family residential mortgage loans and commercial real estate loans, and home equity loans and lines of credit, consumer loans, construction and land development loans, and commercial and industrial loans. It conducts its lending and deposit activities with individuals and small businesses in its primary market area. Its market area is Asheville, North Carolina and the rest of Buncombe County where it has eight branch offices, as well as Henderson, Madison, McDowell and Transylvania Counties where it has five branch offices.
Lending Activities
Asheville Savings Bank loan portfolio include real estate mortgage loans, including one- to four-family residential mortgage loans and commercial mortgage loans, and revolving mortgage loans, which consist of home equity loans and lines of credit, consumer loans, construction and land development loans, and commercial and industrial loans. As of March 31, 2011, it had $177.8 million in one- to four-family residential loans, which represented 36.7% of its total loan portfolio. Its origination of residential mortgage loans enables borrowers to purchase or refinance existing homes located in its primary market area. It offers a mix of adjustable rate mortgage loans and fixed-rate mortgage loans with terms of up to 30 years.
Asheville Savings Bank offers fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgage loans secured by non-residential real estate and multi-family properties. As of March 31, 2011, commercial mort! gage loans totaled $162.7 million, or 33.5% of its total loan portfolio. Its commercial mortgage loans are secured by commercial, industrial and manufacturing, small to moderately-sized office and retail properties, hotels, multi-family properties and hospitals and churches located in its primary market area. As of March 31, 2011, $35.6 million or 21.9% of its commercial real estate loans were secured by owner-occupied properties. It originates fixed-rate and adjustable-rate commercial mortgage loans, generally with terms of three to five years and payments based on an amortization schedule of up to 25 years. It has originated construction and land development loans for commercial properties, such as retail shops and office units, and multi-family properties, and construction and land development loans for one-to four-family homes. As of March 31, 2011, commercial construction and land development loans totaled $27.8 million, which represented 5.7% of its total loan portfolio, and residential construction and land development loans totaled $7.9 million, which represented 1.6% of its total loan portfolio. As of March 31, 2011, it had speculative residential construction loans of $3.1 million and speculative commercial construction loans of $9.6 million.
Asheville Savings Bank offers revolving mortgage loans, which consist of home equity loans and lines of credit, and various consumer loans, including automobile loans and loans secured by deposits. As of March 31, 2011, revolving mortgage loans totaled $52 million, or 10.7% of its total loan portfolio, and consumer loans totaled $41.1 million, or 8.5% of its total loan portfolio. Its revolving mortgage loans consist of both home equity loans with fixed-rate amortizing term loans with terms of up to 15 years and adjustable rate lines of credit with interest rates indexed to the prime rate.
Asheville Savings Bank offers commercial and industrial loans to small businesses located in its primary market area. As of March 31, 2011, co! mmercial ! and industrial loans totaled $15.8 million, which represented 3.2% of its total loan portfolio. Its commercial and industrial loan portfolio consists of loans, which are secured by equipment, accounts receivable and inventory, but also includes a smaller amount of unsecured loans for purposes of financing expansion or providing working capital for general business purposes.
Investment Activities
As of March 31, 2011, Asheville Savings Bank�� investment portfolio consisted of the United States government and agency securities, mortgage-backed securities and securities issued by government sponsored enterprises, and municipal securities. As of March 31, 2011, its securities portfolio represented 27.2% of total assets. As of March 31, 2011, $198.6 million of its securities portfolio was classified as available for sale and $5.7 million of its securities portfolio was classified as held to maturity. Securities classified as held to maturity are United States government sponsored securities, mortgage-backed securities and state and local government securities. As of March 31, 2011, it had four million dollars of other investments, at cost, which consisted of Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta.
Sources of Funds
Deposits, borrowings and loan repayments are the sources of Asheville Savings Bank funds for lending and other investment purposes. It uses advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta to supplement its investable funds. The Federal Home Loan Bank functions as a central reserve bank providing credit for member financial institutions. Advances are made under several different programs, each having its own interest rate and range of maturities. It also utilizes securities sold under agreements to repurchase and overnight repurchase agreements to supplement its supply of investable funds and to meet deposit withdrawal requirements.
Subsidiaries
Asheville Savings Bank has two subsidiaries, Appalachian Financial Services,! Inc., wh! ich was formed to engage in investment activities, and Wenoca, Inc., which serves as Asheville Savings Bank�� trustee regarding deeds of trust. Both subsidiaries are organized as North Carolina corporations.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tim Melvin]
ASB Bancorp (ASBB) is the holding company for Ashville in western North Carolina. The bank has 13 branches and total assets of around $733 million. Nonperforming assets are just 2.1% of total assets and the bank is massively over-reserved for future losses, with loan reserves at 6 times nonperforming loans. The bank bought back 544,494 shares of common stock at an average price of $16.79 per share in 2013. The board just authorized a new 5% buyback in January 2014. The stock is trading around 80% of book value, so management is buying the shares on the cheap — and that should bode well for shareholders in the future.
Top 10 Financial Stocks To Own Right Now: iShares North American Tech-Software ETF (IGV)
iShares S&P North American Technology-Software Index Fund (the Fund), formerly, iShares S&P GSTI Software Index, seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance as represented by the S&P North American Technology-Software Index (the Index). The Index has been developed as an equity benchmark for United States-traded, software-related stocks.
The Index includes companies that are producers of client/server applications, enterprise software, Internet software, personal computer and entertainment software. The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities in the Index, which has a similar investment profile as the Index.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap Synacor Inc (NASDAQ: SYNC) says its "where Tech, Hollywood and Madison Avenue meet in the cloud��but its not exactly been a blockbuster for investors���meanings its worth taking a closer look at the stock along with the performance of potential benchmarks like the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index (NASDAQ: SKYY), iShares North American Tech-Software (NYSEARCA: IGV) and Global X Social Media Index ETF (NASDAQ: SOCL).
No comments:
Post a Comment