The following are the top rated Financial stocks according to Validea’s P/E/Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Peter Lynch. This strategy looks for stocks trading at a reasonable price relative to earnings growth that also possess strong balance sheets.
PATHWARD FINANCIAL INC (CASH) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 100% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Pathward Financial, Inc. is a financial holding company, which operates through its subsidiary, Pathward, N.A. (the Bank). The Bank is a full-service banking company. The Bank operates through three segments: Consumer, Commercial and Corporate Services/Other. The Consumer segment includes the backend as a service (BaaS) business line, which collaborates with partners to navigate payment and lending needs. It provides prepaid cards, deposit accounts, payment processing and consumer lending. The Commercial segment includes the Company’s commercial finance business line, which helps businesses access the funds they need. Its commercial financial products range is available through the four lending solutions: working capital, equipment finance, structured finance and insurance premium finance. The Corporate Services/Other segment includes certain shared services, as well as treasury-related functions, such as the investment portfolio, warehouse finance, wholesale deposits and borrowings.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | BONUS PASS |
Detailed Analysis of PATHWARD FINANCIAL INC
HANMI FINANCIAL CORP (HAFC) is a small-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 100% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Hanmi Financial Corporation is a holding company for Hanmi Bank (the Bank). The Bank is a community bank conducting general business banking, with its primary market encompassing the Korean American community and other Asian-American communities across California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Virginia and Washington. The Bank’s full-service offices are located in markets where many of the businesses are owned by immigrants and other minority groups. The Bank’s client base reflects the multi-ethnic composition of these communities. The Bank originates loans for its own portfolio and for sale in the secondary market. Lending activities include real estate loans (commercial property, construction and residential property), commercial and industrial loans (commercial term, commercial lines of credit and international), equipment lease financing and small business administration (SBA) loans.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | BONUS PASS |
Detailed Analysis of HANMI FINANCIAL CORP
LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC (ADR) (LYG) is a large-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 100% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Lloyds Banking Group plc is a United Kingdom-based retail and commercial financial services provider. The Company provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and in certain locations overseas. Its services are offered through brands, including Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and Scottish Widows. It operates through three segments: Retail, Commercial Banking, and Insurance and Wealth. Its Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance and unsecured consumer lending to personal and small business customers. Its Commercial Banking segment provides a range of products and services, such as lending, transactional banking, working capital management, risk management and debt capital markets services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), corporates and financial institutions. Its Insurance and Wealth segment offers insurance, investment and wealth management products and services.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| YIELD ADJUSTED P/E TO GROWTH (PEG) RATIO: | PASS |
| EARNINGS PER SHARE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | BONUS PASS |
| NET CASH POSITION: | BONUS PASS |
Detailed Analysis of LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC (ADR)
OFG BANCORP (OFG) is a small-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 100% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: OFG Bancorp is a financial holding company. The Company is engaged in providing banking and financial services through its subsidiaries. The Company operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management and Treasury. The Company provides banking and financial services to its clients through a range of banking and financial solutions, including commercial, consumer, auto, and mortgage lending; checking and savings accounts; financial planning, insurance, financial service, and investment brokerage, and corporate and individual trust and retirement services. The Company provides these services through various subsidiaries, including a commercial bank, Oriental Bank; a securities broker-dealer, Oriental Financial Services Corp. (Oriental Financial Services); an insurance agency, Oriental Insurance, LLC (Oriental Insurance), and a retirement plan administrator, Oriental Pension Consultants, Inc. (OPC).
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | BONUS PASS |
Detailed Analysis of OFG BANCORP
PREFERRED BANK (PFBC) is a small-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 100% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Preferred Bank is an independent commercial bank focusing primarily on the California market. The Bank provides a range of financial services. The Bank offers a range of deposit and loan products and services to both commercial and consumer customers. The Bank provides personalized deposit services as well as real estate finance, commercial loans and trade finance to small and mid-sized businesses, entrepreneurs, real estate developers, professionals, and high net worth individuals. The Bank conducts its banking business from its main office in Los Angeles, California, and through 11 full-service branch banking offices in California (Alhambra, Century City, City of Industry, Torrance, Arcadia, Irvine, Diamond Bar, Pico Rivera, Tarzana, and San Francisco) and one branch in Flushing, New York. In addition, the Bank operates a loan production office in the Houston, Texas suburb of Sugar Land. Its business activities come from the mainstream markets of Southern and Northern California.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | BONUS PASS |
Detailed Analysis of PREFERRED BANK
SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL (SYF) is a large-cap value stock in the Consumer Financial Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 96% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Synchrony Financial is a consumer financial services company. The Company provides a range of credit products through programs it has established with a group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations and healthcare service providers. The Company’s revenue activities are managed through three sales platforms: Retail Card, Payment Solutions and CareCredit. It offers its credit products through its subsidiary, Synchrony Bank (the Bank). Through the Bank, it offers a range of deposit products insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), money market accounts and savings accounts. The Company offers three types of credit products: credit cards, commercial credit products and consumer installment loans. The Company also offers a debt cancellation product. It offers two types of credit cards: private label credit cards and Dual Cards.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| SALES: | PASS |
| YIELD COMPARED TO THE S&P 500: | PASS |
| YIELD ADJUSTED P/E/GROWTH (PEG) RATIO: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | BONUS PASS |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of SYNCHRONY FINANCIAL
ITAU UNIBANCO HOLDING SA (ADR) (ITUB) is a large-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 94% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. is a holding company. The Company provides a range of financial products and services to individual and corporate clients in Brazil and abroad. The Company operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Activities with the Market + Corporation. The Retail Banking segment offers banking products and services to a diversified client base of account holders and non-account holders, individuals and companies. The Wholesale Banking segment offers products and services to middle-market companies, high-net worth clients (Private Banking) and institutional clients. The Company’s Activities with the Market + Corporation segment mainly manages the financial results associated with capital surplus, subordinated debt, and net debt of tax credits and debits. The Company provides banking activities, through its commercial, investment, real estate loan, finance and investment credit, and lease portfolios, including foreign exchange operations.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| SALES: | PASS |
| YIELD COMPARED TO THE S&P 500: | PASS |
| YIELD ADJUSTED P/E/GROWTH (PEG) RATIO: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | BONUS PASS |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of ITAU UNIBANCO HOLDING SA (ADR)
CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE (USA) (CM) is a large-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 93% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce is a Canada-based financial institution. The Company offers a full range of advice, solutions and services through its digital banking network across personal and business banking, commercial banking and wealth management, and capital markets businesses. Its personal banking offers products and services, including personal checking, health savings account, personal lending, EasyPath banking, personal savings, retirement, traditions club and mortgage. Its private wealth offers investment management, corporate and institutional services, wealth planning and trustee services and private banking. The Company’s commercial banking includes commercial lending, capital markets, commercial real estate and treasury management. It also includes small business banking and agility digital banking. The Company has over 13 million personal banking, business, public sector and institutional clients.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| SALES: | PASS |
| YIELD COMPARED TO THE S&P 500: | PASS |
| YIELD ADJUSTED P/E/GROWTH (PEG) RATIO: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | FAIL |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | BONUS PASS |
| NET CASH POSITION: | BONUS PASS |
Detailed Analysis of CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE (USA)
CUSTOMERS BANCORP INC (CUBI) is a small-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 93% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Customers Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company. It is engaged in banking activities through its subsidiary, Customers Bank (The Bank). The Bank has diversified lending activities and serves its customers through a single-point-of-contact private banking strategy with a focus on community banking businesses, including commercial and industrial and commercial real estate loans to borrowers in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York City, New England and other geographies, multifamily lending, small business administration lending and residential mortgage lending. The Bank also serves specialty niche businesses nationwide, including its specialty lending, commercial loans to mortgage companies and commercial equipment financing. The Bank offers digital banking to commercial and consumer businesses nationwide, including banking-as-a-service to fintech companies, payments and treasury services, such as CBIT to businesses, and consumer loans through relationships with fintech companies.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of CUSTOMERS BANCORP INC
OPEN LENDING CORP (LPRO) is a small-cap value stock in the Consumer Financial Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Peter Lynch is 93% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.
Company Description: Open Lending Corporation is a provider of loan analytics, risk-based loan pricing, risk modeling and automated decision technology for automotive lenders throughout the United States. It provides lending enablement and risk analytics to credit unions, regional banks, finance companies and the captive finance companies of automakers. It also operates as a third-party administrator that adjudicates insurance claims and premium adjustments on automotive loans. Its flagship product, Lenders Protection Platform (LPP), is a cloud-based automotive lending platform. LPP supports loans made to near prime and non-prime borrowers and is designed to underwrite default insurance by linking automotive lenders to insurance companies. The platform uses risk-based pricing models that enable automotive lenders to assess the credit risk of a potential borrower using data-driven analysis. LPP risk models use a score in assessing and pricing risk on automotive loan applications. It serves over 438 lenders.
The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy’s tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy’s criteria.
| P/E/GROWTH RATIO: | PASS |
| SALES AND P/E RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EPS GROWTH RATE: | PASS |
| TOTAL DEBT/EQUITY RATIO: | NEUTRAL |
| EQUITY/ASSETS RATIO: | PASS |
| RETURN ON ASSETS: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | NEUTRAL |
| NET CASH POSITION: | NEUTRAL |
Detailed Analysis of OPEN LENDING CORP
About Peter Lynch: Perhaps the greatest mutual fund manager of all-time, Lynch guided Fidelity Investment’s Magellan Fund to a 29.2 percent average annual return from 1977 until his retirement in 1990, almost doubling the S&P 500’s 15.8 percent yearly return over that time. Lynch’s common sense approach and quick wit made him one of the most quoted investors on Wall Street. (“Go for a business that any idiot can run — because sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it,” is one of his many pearls of wisdom.) Lynch’s bestseller One Up on Wall Street is something of a “stocks for the everyman/everywoman”, breaking his approach down into easy-to-understand concepts.
About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
