Bank of America Doesn’t Interest Us
Bank of America reported improved second-quarter results. However, we have little interest in the bank and think it is too risky at this time.
JPM
Citigroup Beats Estimates But Shares Are Fairly Valued
Global banking giant Citigroup reported strong than expected earnings Monday, but we aren’t excited about the stock.
Merchant Settlement Clarifies Future for Visa and Mastercard
A class action lawsuit against Visa, Mastercard, and banks that issue debt and credit cards was settled Friday evening. Though many of the details aren’t available, the $7.25 billion settlement has a negligible impact on our fair value estimates.
Wells Fargo Continues Its Sound Performance
Warren Buffett favorite Wells Fargo posted another solid quarter. We like the bank’s conservative ethos but think shares are fairly valued.
Jamie Dimon Continues To Be the Model CEO
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, seems to have successfully navigated his firm through difficult trading losses with honesty and transparency. We think shares of JP Morgan remain undervalued.
Jamie Dimon Testifies; We Aren’t Crazy about a Concentrated Position in Any One Bank
We recently released our reports on a number of US financial institutions. While a few register a 9 on our Valuentum Buying Index, we prefer more diversified financials exposure in the portfolio of our Best Ideas Newsletter.
The Materiality of JP Morgan’s Trading Loss Is Overblown
Though we think the materiality of JP Morgan’s trading loss is overblown, we’re not ruling out the continuation of the market’s recent orderly pullback.
JP Morgan’s First-Quarter Results Support Our Small Financials Exposure; Credit Quality Continues to Improve
JP Morgan (JPM) reported strong first-quarter results Friday that revealed a strengthening balance sheet and positive credit trends in its consumer real estate and credit card portfolios. The firm’s net income fell $172 million (3%) from the same period a year ago, though earnings per share advanced modestly, to $1.31 (consensus expectations were at $1.18 per share). Though we expect the earnings environment to continue to be challenging for banks, we do expect the group as a whole to fetch better valuations in the years ahead as the outsize risk premium associated with ongoing concerns about the domestic housing market and European sovereign debt ease. We continue to hold small, diversified financial positions in the portfolio of our Best Ideas Newsletter, … Read more
JP Morgan Posts Fourth-Quarter Results; Sees Improving Loan Demand and Credit Quality
JP Morgan (JPM), the largest bank in the US by assets, reported fourth-quarter results Friday that showed declining profits but solid loan growth, credit-quality improvement, and continued strength in its fortress balance sheet. We continue to hold positions in the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) and the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) in the portfolio of our Best Ideas Newsletter, but not any bank specifically as we seek to dodge firm-specific risk within the banking sector at this time. However, we think the US banks will have a nice year during 2012 as unemployment (now 8.5%) and housing trends improve (new order growth). JP Morgan’s fourth-quarter net profit fell to $3.7 billion ($0.90 per share) from $4.8 billion ($1.12 per … Read more
The Impact of the US Housing Recovery Cannot Be Underestimated
Valuentum reveals the far-reaching implications of a strengthening US housing market.