Top Financial Companies To Watch For 2014

A strong jobs reports sent stocks higher once again today as major indexes pushed further into record territory. The�Dow Jones Industrial Average� (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) finished the day up 88 points, or 0.5%, to close at 16,924, while the�S&P 500�also added on 0.5% to end the session 1,949. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, gained 0.6%.

The Department of Labor reported numbers essentially in line with expectations in the always-anticipated monthly jobs report, saying 217,000 payroll jobs were added in May, and that the unemployment rate held steady at 6.3%. Economists had predicted 220,000, and for the unemployment rate to move up to 6.4%. The report marked the first time since January 2000 that the country has seen four-straight months of 200,000-plus jobs growth, a sign that the labor market is finally making a return to full health after several years of weakness following the financial crisis. The number of long-term unemployed, which spiked because of the recession, remained essentially unchanged at 3.4 million during May, but has fallen by nearly 1 million in the last year. Average hourly earnings also improved by 0.2% last month after no change in April, showing that the improving labor market may be starting to bring up wage levels.

Best Up And Coming Companies To Watch For 2015: S.Y. Bancorp Inc.(SYBT)

S.Y. Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Stock Yards Bank & Trust Company that provides commercial and personal banking services in Louisville, Kentucky; southern Indiana and Indianapolis, Indiana; and Cincinnati, Ohio. Its deposits consist of non-interest and interest bearing demand deposits, savings deposits, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market deposits, and time deposits. The company provides various secured loans, including commercial lines of credit, commercial term loans, real estate, construction, home equity, and consumer loans. It also offers wealth management services, including investment management, trust and estate administration, retirement planning, and financial planning services; securities brokerage services; and life insurance products, as well as originates and sells single-family residential mortgages. As of December 31, 2010, the company had 25 full service banking locations in the Louisville MSA, 2 full service banking locations in Indianapolis, and 3 full service banking locations in Cincinnati. S.Y. Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1904 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Louisville-based bank holding company S.Y. Bancorp (SYBT) raised its quarterly dividend 5% to 21 cents per share, payable on Dec. 31 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 9.
  SYBT Dividend Yield: 2.71%

Top Financial Companies To Watch For 2014: Metro Bancorp Inc(METR)

Metro Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Metro Bank, which provides a range of retail and commercial banking services to consumers and small and mid-sized companies in Pennsylvania. Its deposit products include personal and business checking accounts, regular savings accounts, money market accounts, interest checking accounts, fixed rate certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and club accounts. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises commercial and industrial, owner occupied real estate, commercial construction and land development, and commercial real estate loans; consumer loans, including home equity, overdraft checking protection, and consumer credit cards, as well as installment loans for home improvement, and the purchase of consumer goods and automobiles; and construction loans and permanent mortgages for homes. It also offers debit card services, online banking services, safe deposit facilities, and automated teller fa cilities. As of July 14, 2011, Metro Bancorp operated 33 stores in the counties of Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York. The company was formerly known as Pennsylvania Commerce Bancorp, Inc. and changed its name to Metro Bancorp, Inc. in June 2009. Metro Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Metro Bancorp (METR) is one bank that might consider selling based on these metric. The company�� return on assets has consistently been well below its peer group, and the equity-to-asset ratio is just 8.46 — well below the 11 average across the United States.

Top Financial Companies To Watch For 2014: New York Community Bancorp Inc (NYCB)

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and a producer of multi-family mortgage loans in New York City, with an emphasis on apartment buildings that feature below-market rents. It has two bank subsidiaries: New York Community Bank (the Community Bank),New York Commercial Bank (the Commercial Bank. The Community Bank has 241 branches and operates through seven divisional banks. The Commercial Bank has 34 branches in Manhattan and operates 17 of its branches under the divisional name Atlantic Bank.

During the year ended December 31, 2011, all of the one-to-four family loans the Company originated was sold to government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). In New York, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through Roslyn Savings Bank, with 55 branches on Long Island; Queens County Savings Bank, with 34 branches in the New York City borough of Queens; Richmond County Savings Bank, with 22 branches in the borough of Staten Island, and Roosevelt Savings Bank, with eight branches in the borough of Brooklyn. As of December 31, 2011, in the Bronx and neighboring Westchester County, the Company had four branches that operated directly under the name New York Community Bank.

In New Jersey, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 51 branches that operate under the name Garden State Community Bank. In Florida and Arizona, where it has 25 and 14 branches, respectively, the Company serves its customers through the AmTrust Bank (AmTrust) division of the Community Bank. In Ohio, the Company serves its Community Bank customers through 28 branches of Ohio Savings Bank. Customers of the Community Bank and the Commercial Bank have access to their accounts through 261 of its 285 automatic teller machines (ATMs) locations in five states. The Company also serves its customers through three Websites, which include www.myNYCB.com, www.NewYorkCommercialBank.com and www.NYCBfamily.com.

Lending Activities

The Company�� principal asset is l! oans. Its loan portfolio consists of three components: covered loans, non-covered loans held for sale and non-covered loans held for investment. As of December 31, 2011, the balance of covered loans was $3.8 billion, of which $3.4 billion were one-to-four family loans. Non-covered loans held for sale consists of the one-to-four family loans that are originated for sale, primarily to GSEs. At December 31, 2011, the held-for-sale loan portfolio totaled $1.0 billion

As of December 31, 2011, loans held for investment consisted of loans that it originates for its own portfolio, and totaled $ 25.5 billion.

In addition to multi-family loans, loans held for investment include commercial real estate loans (CRE); acquisition, development and construction (ADC) loans; commercial and industrial loans (C&I), and one-to-four family loans. As of December 31, 2011, its multi-family loans represented $17.4 billion, or 68.3%, of total loans held for investment, and represented $5.8 billion, or 64.1%, of the total loans that it originated for investment. The multi-family loans it originates are typically secured by non-luxury apartment buildings in New York City. It also makes multi-family loans to property owners who are seeking to expand their real estate holdings by purchasing additional properties.

As of December 31, 2011, CRE loans represented $6.9 billion, or 26.9%, of total held for investment; ADC loans represented $445.7 million, or 1.7%, of total loans held for investment. Its ADC loan portfolio consists of loans that were originated for land acquisition, development, and construction of multi-family and residential tract projects in New York City and Long Island.

C&I loans represented $600.0 million, or 2.4%, of total held for investment. It also offers a range of loans to small and mid-size businesses for working capital (including inventory and receivables), business expansion, and the purchase of equipment and machinery. Non-covered one-to-four family loans totaled $127! .4 millio! n at December 31, 2011.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio primarily consists of mortgage-related securities, and debt and equity (other) securities. Its investments include GSE certificates, GSE collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) and GSE debentures. The Community Bank and the Commercial Bank are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLB-NY), one of 12 regional Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs) consisting of the FHLB system. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� securities represented $4.5 billion, or 10.8%, of total assets. As of December 31, 2011, 93.7% of its securities portfolio consisted of GSE obligations; held-to-maturity securities represented $3.8 billion, or 84.0%, of total securities, and its investment in bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) was $769.0 million.

Source of Funds

The Company has four primary funding sources. These include the deposits that it added through its acquisitions or gathered through its branch network, and brokered deposits; wholesale borrowings, primarily in the form of FHLB advances and repurchase agreements with the FHLB and various brokerage firms; cash flows produced by the repayment and sale of loans, and cash flows produced by securities repayments and sales. As of December 31, 2011, deposits totaled $ 22.3 billion, which included certificates of deposit (CDs) of $7.4 billion; negotiable order withdrawal (NOW) and money market accounts of $8.8 billion; savings accounts of $ 4.0 billion, and non-interest-bearing accounts of $2.2 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� borrowed funds totaled $14.0 billion, loan repayments and sales generated cash flows of $15.0 billion, and securities sales and repayments generated cash flows of $4.2 billion.

Subsidiary Activities

As of December 31, 2011, Community Bank had 34 subsidiary corporations. Of these, 22 are direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank and 12 are subsidiaries of Community Bank! -owned en! tities. The 22 direct subsidiaries of the Community Bank include DHB Real Estate, LLC, Mt. Sinai Ventures, LLC, NYCB Community Development Corp., NYCB Mortgage Company, LLC, Eagle Rock Investment Corp., Pacific Urban Renewal, Inc., Somerset Manor Holding Corp., Synergy Capital Investments, Inc., 1400 Corp., BSR 1400 Corp., Bellingham Corp., Blizzard Realty Corp., CFS Investments, Inc., Main Omni Realty Corp., NYB Realty Holding Company, LLC, O.B. Ventures, LLC, RCBK Mortgage Corp., RCSB Corporation, RSB Agency, Inc., Richmond Enterprises, Inc. and Roslyn National Mortgage Corporation.

The 12 subsidiaries of Community Bank-owned entities include Bronx Realty Funding Company, LLC, Columbia Preferred Capital Corporation, Ferry Development Holding Company, Peter B. Cannell & Co., Inc., Roslyn Real Estate Asset Corp., Walnut Realty Funding Company, LLC, Woodhaven Investments Inc, Your New REO, LLC, Ironbound Investment Company, Inc.,The Hamlet at Olde Oyster Bay, LLC, The Hamlet at Willow Creek, LLC and Richmond County Capital Corporation.

The two direct subsidiaries of the Commercial Bank include Beta Investments, Inc., and Gramercy Leasing Services, Inc. The two subsidiaries of Commercial Bank-owned entities include Omega Commercial Mortgage Corp. and Long Island Commercial Capital Corp.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  Khan was not incredibly active in the quarter, which isn�� surprising — he follows strict buying criteria related to book value and margin of safety, and tends to hold for much longer than most investors. Khan Brothers did take a stake in embattled smart phone company Blackberry (BBRY), which has gone on the auction block. The firm also upped its stake in BP (BP) by more than 500% during the third quarter and bought more shares of New York Community Bank (NYCB).

• [By Rick Munarriz]

  Wednesday
  New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) is another regional banker reporting this week. One of its more notable features is its chunky dividend. A hefty yield of 7.3% will turn heads in just about any industry, but is it sustainable? Analysts see slight dips in revenue and earnings per share in Wednesday's report.

• [By Jessica Alling]

  Wednesday

  MBA purchase applications: Application activity rose 4.5% last week, even as interest rates remained flat. The rate of mortgage and refinancing applications fell earlier in April, giving banks and their shareholders some concerns about the ability to continue growth in their mortgage operations -- on of the leading drivers of many of the Big Four's record earnings. Earnings: New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) : Another regional bank announces earnings on Wednesday, so investors should be keen to see if there is a trend among the smaller banks.

  Thursday

• [By Amanda Alix]

  Though New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) saw a drop in its share price after releasing earnings yesterday, there is little doubt that investors are pleased with the bank's second-quarter results. The bank beat earnings per share estimates easily, aided by its largest ever jump in multi-family refinance-prepayment activity, which added 20 basis points to its net interest margin.

Top Financial Companies To Watch For 2014: Gray Fox Petroleum Corp (GFOX)

Gray Fox Petroleum Corp., incorporated on September 22, 2011, is a domestic oil and gas exploration and development company. The Company focuses on the acquisition and exploration of oil and natural gas properties in the Western United States.

The Company has 100% working interest and an 82% net revenue interest in the 32,723 acre West Ranch Prospect. The Company�� West Ranch Prospect is located in the Butte Valley Oil Play Region of north central Nevada in Elko and White Pine Countries, which has produced over 50 million barrels of oil in Nevada from structures and reservoir horizons similar to those under the West Ranch Prospect. The prospect consists of 22 Federal leases in the Butte Valley Oil Play Region.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Peter Graham]

  On Friday, small cap mining stocks Maverick Minerals Corp (OTCMKTS: MVRM) and Liberty Coal Energy Corp (OTCMKTS: LBTG) plus oil stock Gray Fox Petroleum Corp (OTCBB: GFOX) sank 30.9%, 16.67% and 11.2%, respectively. However, only one of these stocks appears to have been the subject of some kind of paid promotion in the form of an investment in some shares. So will these three small cap mining or oil stocks keep coming up empty for investors this week? Here is a closer look:

Top Financial Companies To Watch For 2014: Brookline Bancorp Inc.(BRKL)

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for Brookline Bank, Bank Rhode Island, and The First National Bank of Ipswich, which provide commercial and retail banking services, and cash management and investment services to customers in Central New England. The company accepts various deposit products, including non-interest-bearing checking accounts, interest-bearing NOW accounts, savings accounts and money market savings accounts, certificate of deposit accounts, individual retirement accounts, and other qualified plan accounts. Its loan portfolio comprises first mortgage loans secured by commercial, multi-family, and residential real estate properties; auto loans; loans to business entities consisting of commercial lines of credit; and loans to condominium associations, as well as loans for financing equipment used by small businesses. Brookline Bancorp, Inc. also provides financing for construction and development projects, home equity, and other consumer l oans; and loans to finance coin-operated laundry, dry cleaning, and convenience store equipment and businesses. As of January 25, 2012, it operated 43 branches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The company was founded in 1871 and is headquartered in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRKL) announced today that it will report third quarter earnings 2012 at the close of business Wednesday, October 24, 2012. Management will host a conference call to review this information at 1:30 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, October 25, 2012.

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Memberships and Peers: PBCT is a member of the S&P 500 and a member of the Broad Dividend Achievers��Index. The company's peer group includes: Bank of America Corporation (BAC) with a 0.3% yield, Brookline Bancorp, Inc. (BRKL) with a 3.7% yield and Westfield Financial Inc. (WFD) with a 3.5% yield.

Top Financial Companies To Watch For 2014: Salient MLP And Energy Infrastructure Fund (SMF)

Salient MLP and Energy Infrastructure Fund (the Fund), is an organized, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company. Its investment objective is to provide a high level of total return with an emphasis on making quarterly cash distributions (Distributions) to its shareholders. The Fund seeks to provide its shareholders with a tax-efficient vehicle to invest in a portfolio of energy infrastructure companies that own midstream and other energy assets. The Fund will invest at least 80% of its total assets in securities of companies in the Midstream/Energy Sector, consisting of Midstream MLPs, Midstream Companies, Other MLPs and Other Energy Companies. It will invest in equity securities, such as common units, preferred units, subordinated units, general partner interests, common shares, preferred shares and convertible securities in MLPs, Midstream Companies and Other Energy Companies. The Fund is managed by Salient Capital Advisors, LLC. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Lam]

  Semafo (SMF) jumped 4.8 percent to C$2.60 and Iamgold gained 2.1 percent to C$4.20 as 21 of 24 members of the S&P/TSX Gold Index increased. Gold rose from a five-month low as investors weighed the outlook for reduced U.S. stimulus as early as next week against speculation physical demand may increase at lower prices. Gold for February delivery advanced 0.6 percent in New York.