The following are the top rated Financial stocks according to Validea's Low PE Investor model based on the published strategy of John Neff. This strategy looks for firms with persistent earnings growth that trade at a discount relative to their earnings growth and dividend yield.
ESSENT GROUP LTD (ESNT) is a mid-cap value stock in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 81% 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: Essent Group Ltd. is a holding company, which, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, offers private mortgage insurance and reinsurance for mortgages secured by residential properties located in the United States. In addition to offering mortgage insurance, it provides contract underwriting services on a limited basis through CUW Solutions, LLC. It provides risk management products to mortgage lenders and investors to support homeownership. It offers private capital to bear mortgage credit risk, enabling lenders and mortgage investors to make mortgage financing available for homeowners. Its products and services include mortgage insurance, which includes private mortgage insurance, primary and pool; contract underwriting and Bermuda-Based insurance and reinsurance. Primary mortgage insurance provides protection on individual loans at specified coverage percentages. Pool insurance provides additional credit enhancement for certain secondary market and other mortgage transactions.
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 RATIO: | FAIL |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of ESSENT GROUP LTD
HORIZON BANCORP INC (HBNC) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 81% 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: Horizon Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company. The Company provides a range of banking services in northern and central Indiana and southern and central Michigan through its subsidiaries, Horizon Bank (the Bank) and Horizon Risk Management, Inc. The Company operates through the commercial banking segment. The Bank is a full-service commercial bank that offers a range of commercial and retail banking and other services incident to banking along with a trust department that offers corporate and individual trust and agency services and investment management services. The Bank maintains approximately 78 full-service offices. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Horizon Risk Management, Inc., is a captive insurance company. Its loan portfolio consists of commercial loans, real estate loans, mortgage warehouse loans and consumer loans. It deposits include noninterest-bearing demand deposits, interest-bearing demand deposits, savings deposits, money market and time deposits.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of HORIZON BANCORP INC
PREFERRED BANK (PFBC) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 81% 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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of PREFERRED BANK
PINNACLE FINANCIAL PARTNERS INC (PNFP) is a mid-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 81% 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: Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. is a financial holding company. The Company operates through its wholly owned subsidiary, Pinnacle Bank (the Bank). The Bank is a Tennessee state-chartered bank. The Bank offers a full range of lending products, including commercial, real estate and consumer loans to individuals, businesses and professional entities. The Bank is also focused on offering core deposits, including savings, checking, noninterest-bearing checking, interest-bearing checking, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, including access to products offered through various IntraFi Network Deposit programs. It also offers a range of treasury management and remote deposit services, including online wire origination, zero balance and sweep accounts, automated bill pay services, and lockbox processing. It operates approximately 118 offices, including 49 in Tennessee, 37 in North Carolina, 20 in South Carolina, nine in Virginia, two in Georgia and one in Alabama.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | PASS |
Detailed Analysis of PINNACLE FINANCIAL PARTNERS INC
ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN HOLDING LP (AB) is a mid-cap value stock in the Investment Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on John Neff is 79% 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: AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. provides diversified investment management, research, and related services to a range of clients. Its principal services include Institutional Services, Retail Services, Private Wealth Management Services and Bernstein Research Services. It offers Institutional Services to its institutional clients, which include private and public pension plans, foundations and endowments, insurance companies, central banks, and governments worldwide, and Equitable Holdings, Inc. (EQH) and its subsidiaries. Its retail services distribute retail products and services through financial intermediaries, including broker-dealers, insurance sales representatives, banks, registered investment advisors and financial planners. Private Wealth Management services its private clients, including high-net-worth individuals and families, trusts and estates, charitable foundations, partnerships, and other entities. It expands its private markets platform through CarVal Investors.
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 RATIO: | PASS |
| EPS GROWTH: | PASS |
| FUTURE EPS GROWTH: | FAIL |
| SALES GROWTH: | PASS |
| TOTAL RETURN/PE: | PASS |
| FREE CASH FLOW: | PASS |
| EPS PERSISTENCE: | FAIL |
Detailed Analysis of ALLIANCEBERNSTEIN HOLDING LP
More details on Validea's John Neff strategy
About John Neff: While known as the manager with whom many top managers entrusted their own money, Neff was far from the smooth-talking, high-profile Wall Streeter you might expect. He was mild-mannered and low-key, and the same might be said of the Windsor Fund that he managed for more than three decades. In fact, Neff himself described the fund as "relatively prosaic, dull, [and] conservative." There was nothing dull about his results, however. From 1964 to 1995, Neff guided Windsor to a 13.7 percent average annual return, easily outpacing the S&P 500's 10.6 percent return during that time. That 3.1 percentage point difference is huge over time -- a $10,000 investment in Windsor (with dividends reinvested) at the start of Neff's tenure would have ended up as more than $564,000 by the time he retired, more than twice what the same investment in the S&P would have yielded (about $233,000). Considering the length of his tenure, that track record may be the best ever for a manager of such a large fund.
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.
