Top 5 Regional Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now

Although the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have seen new highs this year, some areas within the stock market aren’t participating in the rally.

Small cap ETFs, for example, linked to the Russell 2000 (IWM) and S&P SmallCap 600 (IJR) continue to lag the broader market. Investor risk appetite for higher beta/higher risk small cap stocks is waning, which partly explains why they aren’t leading the market.  

Elsewhere, the homebuilding (ITB), retailing (XRT), and regional bank (KRE) industry sectors have not participated in the 2014 rally to new highs. Why does this matter? Because performance divergences, especially in key industry sectors, are either supportive or non-supportive of the broader stock market’s move.

Furthermore, it would be a mistake to overlook the importance of homebuilders, retailers, and regional banks not just for the stock market, but the broader economy. 

Consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of national GDP and a robust housing market is central to any economy that’s alleged to be growing.

Hot Mid Cap Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Mears Group PLC (MER)

Mears Group PLC (Mears Group) is a holding company. The principal activities of the Company are the provision of a range of outsourced services to the public and private sectors. The Company operated in three business segments: social housing, which provides a full repair and maintenance service to local authorities and other registered social housing landlords in the United Kingdom; domiciliary care, which provides personal care services to people in their own homes and mechanical and electrical (M&E), which consists of provision of design and build M&E services. The Company�� subsidiaries include Mears Limited, Haydon Mechanical & Electrical Limited, Scion Technical Services Limited, Scion Estates Limited, Jackson Lloyd Limited, Morrison Facilities Services Limited, Morrison Facilities Services Limited, Manchester Working Limited and Mears Home Improvements Limited. Effective August 13, 2013, Mears Group PLC acquired a 50% interest in Just Call 24/7 (UK) Ltd. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Heinzl]

  If you're uncomfortable picking individual preferred shares, a diversified exchange-traded fund, such as CPD can be a good option. The fund, which has about $1.4-billion under management, holds more than 200 preferred shares, with banks and insurance companies accounting for more than half of the assets. The fund has a management expense ratio (MER) of 0.5%.

Top 5 Regional Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: Textura Corp (TXTR)

Textura Corporation, incorporated on September 27, 2007, is a provider of on-demand business collaboration software to the commercial construction industry. The Company�� solutions are focused on facilitating collaboration between owners/developers, general contractors and subcontractors. The Company offers PlanSwift, a take-off and estimating solution used in preparing construction bids, and Contractor Default Claims Management, which supports the process of documenting a subcontractor default insurance claim. Each of its collaboration solutions was designed from inception as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution with on-demand architecture. The Company collaboration solutions each use a single code base and it do not customize its solutions for any of the Company�� clients. In December 2013, Textura Corp closed its acquisition of LATISTA Technologies Inc, the provider of mobile-enabled solutions for construction project collaboration.

The Company�� collaboration solutions offer functionality, data sharing and exchange capabilities, and workflow tools that support several business processes at various stages of the construction project lifecycle, which include Construction Payment Management (CPM) enables the generation, collection, review and routing of invoices and the necessary supporting documentation and legal documents, and initiation of payment of invoices; Submittal Exchange enables the collection, review and routing of project documents; GradeBeam supports the process of obtaining construction bids, including identifying potential bidders, issuing invitations-to-bid and tracking bidding intent; Pre-Qualification Management (PQM) supports contractor risk assessment and qualification, and Greengrade facilitates the management of environmental certification processes. The Company�� on-demand business collaboration software solutions address the several challenges associated with the traditional paper-based and personnel-intensive manual approaches or with technology solut! ions not designed for collaborative processes, and support many of the trends occurring within the commercial construction industry.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  It took four days, but Dow 16,000 finally stuck until the close, with the Dow Jones Industrials (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) finishing the day up 109 points. Particularly strong showings from the financial contingent of the Dow 30 pushed the average up, but their gains were small compared to the larger jumps that Sprint (NYSE: S  ) , Textura (NYSE: TXTR  ) , and Williams-Sonoma (NYSE: WSM  ) saw. Let's look at why these three companies did so well today, to see if we can draw hints about other potential winners down the road.

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  What: Shares of Textura (NYSE: TXTR  ) have popped today after a slew of analysts initiated bullish coverage on the company.

  So what: Textura went public in early June with an early pop, and four Street analysts have started the company off with outperform ratings. That includes William Blair, Oppenheimer, Credit Suisse, and Barrington Research, all of which are optimistic about Textura's prospects.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading DOWN
  Shares of Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) were down 11.59 percent to $64.92 after Macquarie downgraded the stock from Neutral to Underperform. Textura (NYSE: TXTR) tumbled 5.24 percent to $29.66. Textura shares tumbled 17.06 percent yesterday after Citron Research issued a scathing report on the company midway through the morning Thursday.

Top 5 Regional Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: Post Properties Inc. (PPS)

Post Properties, Inc., a real estate investments trust (REIT), together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, ownership, and management of multifamily apartment communities in the United States. As of December 31, 2007, the company owned 22,578 apartment units in 63 apartment communities, including 1,747 apartment units in 2 communities held in unconsolidated entities and 2,266 apartment units in 7 communities. It is also developing and selling 535 for-sale condominium homes in 4 communities and converting 349 apartment homes into for-sale condominium homes in 2 communities. The company primarily operates in Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Washington, D.C.; and Tampa, Florida metropolitan areas. Post Properties has elected to be taxed as REIT under the Internal Revenue Code and would not be subject to federal income taxes, if it distributes approximately 90% of its taxable income to its shareholders. The company was founded in 1971 and is based in Atlanta, Ge orgia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Philip Springer]

  Post Properties Inc. (NYSE: PPS): 14.7%

  
  Here are the largest homebuilders and their shares’ performance so far this year:
  
  Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN): -2.3%

• [By Sally Jones] ng>Rate of Return: 30.76%

  Down 6% over 12 months, Post Properties Inc., a residential REIT, has a market cap of $2.46 billion; its shares were traded at around $45.02. The tangible book value is 20.98. PPS trades with a P/E ratio of 29.00 and a P/B of 2.10. The earnings yield is 2.80%.

  Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2013, Third Avenue Management holds 422,734 shares values at around $20.9 million.

  PPS is a relatively new holding for the firm, first bought in the second quarter of 2013. The firm bought 422,734 shares at an average price of $49.04, for a loss of 8.2%.

  Track historical pricing, revenue and net income since 1993:

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  Valley National Bancorp (VLY)

  Rate of Return: 26.4%

  Up 5% over 12 months, Valley National Bancorp has a market cap of $2.07 billion; its shares were traded at around $10.40. The tangible book value is 5.28. VLY trades with a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a P/B of 1.30. The earnings yield is 3.80%.

  Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2013, Third Avenue Management holds 1,462,501 shares values at around $13.8 million.

  VLY is another new holding for Third Avenue, first buying 1,462,501 shares in the second quarter of 2013, at an average price of $9.34, for a gain of 11.3%.

  Track historical pricing, revenue and net income since 1990:

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  Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (BKD)

  Rate of Return: 23.14%

  Up 11% over 12 months, Brookdale Senior Living Inc. has a market cap of $3.35 billion; its shares were traded at around $26.94. The tangible book value is 5.97. BKD trades with a P/B of 3.30. The earnings yield is 1.80%.

  Guru Action: As of Sept. 30, 2013, Third Avenue Management holds 658,866 shares values at around $17.429 million.

  Bought in the second quarter of 2013, BKD is another new holding for Third Avenue. The firm made a new buy of 658,866 shares at an average price of $27.55, for a 2.2% loss.

  Track historical pricing,

Top 5 Regional Bank Companies To Watch In Right Now: Northrim BanCorp Inc(NRIM)

Northrim BanCorp, Inc., through its subsidiaries, which provides a range of banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in Alaska. Its deposit services include noninterest-bearing checking accounts and interest-bearing time deposits, checking accounts, and savings accounts. The company?s loan portfolio comprises commercial and real estate lending, construction and land development lending, and consumer loans. Northrim BanCorp also offers other customer services, including telebanking, faxed account statements, Internet banking, automated teller services, personalized checks at account opening, overdraft protection from a savings account, extended banking hours, commercial drive-up banking with coin service, automatic transfers and payments, wire transfers, direct payroll deposit, electronic tax payments, automated clearing house origination and receipt, and cash management services. In addition, it provides investment advisory, insurance br okerage, trust, and wealth management services. As of December 31, 2009, the company operated 11 branches, including 7 in Anchorage, 2 in Fairbanks, and 1 each in Eagle River and Wasilla. Northrim BanCorp, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  Northrim BanCorp Inc. (NRIM) operates as the bank holding company for Northrim Bank that provides commercial banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and individuals primarily in Alaska. August 16th the company increased its quarterly dividend 13% to $0.17 per share. The dividend is payable Sept. 13 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Sept. 5, 2013. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.