The financial sector has had a good year, up an average 13.1% year-to-date, trailing only behind the Healthcare sector (+13.9%) and Services (+15%).
So what stocks are the “smart money” investing in? While the financial industry is quite large in scope, we narrowed our search for institutional money trends down to Regional Banking stocks.
Why Regional Banks?
The household name banks neither evoke confidence nor trust in the majority of Americans. And while it may not be so heavily discussed today, the movement of customers taking their business from big banks to regional banks was significant during the days of the Wall Street Protests. Many benefited from a larger customer base, and remain the beneficiaries of less rigorous federal oversight. More importantly, their fiscal and moral compass seems better aligned that their king-sized peers.
These companies do not have the type of mega market caps that the behemoths of the banking industry offer, but they do perform all the traditional banking functions of giving out loans and accepting deposits and many do provide areas of value for interested investors.
Business Section: Investing Ideas
So, which names have caught the attention of institutional investors?
Eight names screened for significant net positive investments from institutions in the current quarter. Four had significant net selling.
We list them below. All names have market caps north of $300 million.
Significant Institutional Buying
Use the Turbo Chart to Compare the Performance of the First Two Companies in the List to the S&P 500:
1. BankUnited, Inc. (BKU, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Mid-Atlantic Banks. Operates as the holding company for BankUnited that provides various banking products and services to consumers, and commercial and middle-market businesses. Market cap at $2.37B. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 2.1M shares, which represents about 6.14% of the company’s float of 34.22M shares.
2. Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc (CRBC, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Midwest Banks. Operates as the bank holding company for Citizens Bank that provides banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana. Market cap at $801.6M. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 4.2M shares, which represents about 11.43% of the company’s float of 36.76M shares.
3. Community Bank System Inc. (CBU, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Northeast Banks. Operates as the holding company for Community Bank, N. Market cap at $1.09B. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 2.2M shares, which represents about 5.87% of the company’s float of 37.47M shares.
4. Tompkins Financial Corporation. (TMP, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Northeast Banks. Through its banking subsidiaries, Tompkins Trust Company, The Bank of Castile, and The Mahopac National Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, corporations, and other business clients in New York. Market cap at $469M. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 1.2M shares, which represents about 13.51% of the company’s float of 8.88M shares.
5. Central Pacific Financial Corp. (CPF, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Pacific Banks. Operates as the bank holding company for Central Pacific Bank that provides commercial banking services to businesses, professionals, and individuals in Hawaii. Market cap at $556.39M. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 3.9M shares, which represents about 19.95% of the company’s float of 19.55M shares.
6. Hanmi Financial Corporation (HAFC, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Pacific Banks. Operates as the holding company for Hanmi Bank that provides general business banking products and services in the United States. Market cap at $380.08M. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 7.2M shares, which represents about 23.58% of the company’s float of 30.53M shares.
7. BancorpSouth, Inc. (BXS, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Southeast Banks. Operates as the holding company for BancorpSouth Bank that provides commercial banking and financial services to individuals, and small-to-medium sized businesses in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, and Illinois. Market cap at $1.38B. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 9.7M shares, which represents about 11.7% of the company’s float of 82.92M shares.
8. Regions Financial Corp. (RF, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Southeast Banks. Operates as the holding company for the Regions Bank that provides a range of commercial, retail, and mortgage banking services in the United States. Market cap at $9.78B. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter at 106.3M shares, which represents about 7.59% of the company’s float of 1.40B shares.
Significant Institutional Selling
1. Pacific Capital Bancorp (PCBC, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Pacific Banks. Provides a range of commercial and consumer banking services to households, professionals, and businesses primarily in the central coast of California. Market cap at $1.51B. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -229.5K shares, which represents about 5.63% of the company’s float of 4.08M shares.
2. SVB Financial Group (SIVB, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Pacific Banks. Operates as the bank and financial holding company that provides commercial banking and financial products and services. Market cap at $2.52B, most recent closing price at $56.99. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -3.7M shares, which represents about 8.42% of the company’s float of 43.94M shares.
3. Zions Bancorp. (ZION, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Pacific Banks. Provides various banking and related products and services in the United States. Market cap at $3.51B. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -33.3M shares, which represents about 18.58% of the company’s float of 179.27M shares.
4. UMB Financial Corporation (UMBF, Earnings, Analysts, Financials): Regional – Southwest Banks. Provides banking and other financial services in the United States. Market cap at $1.99B. Net institutional sales in the current quarter at -1.9M shares, which represents about 5.84% of the company’s float of 32.52M shares.
Written by Rebecca Lipman. Data sourced from Finviz and Fidelity.
Use Kapitall’s Tools: Looking for ways to analyze this list?
Use this article snapshot as a launch pad (click here for help): Simply click on the links, and use Kapitall’s tab navigation to browse through the data…
Analyze These Ideas: Getting Started
Dig Deeper: Access Company Snapshots, Charts, Filings
- BankUnited, Inc. (BKU, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Citizens Republic Bancorp, Inc (CRBC, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Community Bank System Inc. (CBU, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Tompkins Financial Corporation. (TMP, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Central Pacific Financial Corp. (CPF, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Hanmi Financial Corporation (HAFC, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- BancorpSouth, Inc. (BXS, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Regions Financial Corp. (RF, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Pacific Capital Bancorp (PCBC, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- SVB Financial Group (SIVB, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- Zions Bancorp. (ZION, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
- UMB Financial Corporation (UMBF, Chart, Download SEC Filings)
New to Kapitall?
1. New to the site? Click here to register for a free account, and gain access to more tools and data
2. Looking for more investing ideas like this? Click here to sign up for your free copy of Kapitall Weekly
3. Follow us on SeekingAlpha, Motley Fool, Nasdaq and Twitter
ABOUT KAPITALL WIRE
Kapitall Wire, which is not a broker/dealer, offers free cutting edge investing ideas, lively commentary and timely analysis of companies enhanced by interactive tools. And the Investing 101 section breaks complex concepts down to their basics, offering education to novices that doubles as a refresher course for more seasoned investors.
Kapitall Wire is a division of Kapitall Inc. Securities products and services are offered by Kapitall Generation, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC . Kapitall Generation, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kapitall, Inc.
