Top Regional Bank Companies To Buy For 2014

Lakeland Bancorp (LBAI) is a very cost efficient, well-capitalized small-cap bank that operates 46 offices throughout northern New Jersey. With $2.9 billion in assets, $2.388 billion in deposits and $2.17 billion in loans, Lakeland has established itself as the third largest commercial bank headquartered in the state. Recently, Lakeland closed its acquisition of Somerset Hills Bancorp which added $368.9 million in assets in a deal worth $65.7 million (1.52X Somerset's tangible book value).

Since loan growth has been extremely hard for some regional banks, I think this deal is great for shareholders because it comes during a time when Lakeland has already been growing loans organically, and at a price lower than LBAI's own P/TBV. Since this new addition has yet to hit the reported books, below I have provided a review of Lakeland to help assess the banks pre-acquisition financial position and current valuation.

10 Best Consumer Stocks To Watch For 2015: Omnicom Group Inc.(OMC)

Omnicom Group Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides advertising, marketing, and corporate communications services. It offers services in traditional media advertising, customer relationship management, public relations, and specialty communications groups. The company?s services include advertising, brand consultancy, corporate social responsibility consulting, crisis communications, custom publishing, database management, digital and interactive marketing, direct marketing, directory advertising, entertainment marketing, environmental design, experiential marketing, field marketing, financial/corporate business-to-business advertising, graphic arts, healthcare communications, and instore design. Omnicom Group also offers investor relations, marketing research, media planning and buying, mobile marketing services, multi-cultural marketing, non-profit marketing, organizational communications, package design, product placement, promotional marketing, public affairs, public relations, recruitment communications, reputation consulting, retail marketing, search engine marketing, and sports and event marketing services. It offers its services in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The company was founded in 1944 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  ��onsumer discretionary earnings will be an interesting bellwether on what�� been driving growth,��McMillan said. Companies specific to the consumer discretionary sector reporting in the coming week include Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) , Mattel Inc. (MAT) , Interpublic Group of Cos. (IPG) �and Omnicom Group Inc. (OMC) .

Top Regional Bank Companies To Buy For 2014: NET Servicos de Comunicacao S.A.(NETC)

Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A., through its subsidiaries, provides cable television, Internet access, and voice services in Brazil. It offers cable television services under the ?NET? brand name through various cable networks located in the largest cities of Brazil. The company also offers broadband Internet access services under the ?NET VIRTUA? brand name by using Embratel's IP backbone infrastructure. In addition, it provides voice services under the ?NET FONE VIA EMBRATEL? brand name jointly with Embratel. Further, the company offers integrated video, broadband, and voice services. Net Servicos de Comunicacao S.A. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Vanina Egea] offers bundled services and has aggressively expanded its Internet and TV subscriber base in the state.

  Investing for Long-term Growth

  Looking forward, Telef贸nica Brasil is investing in technology and network expansion to further empower its competitive position. The firm is expanding its 3G network based on CDMA EV-DO and HSPA technologies, which provide a great advantage over its peers. Further, it expects to benefit from the growth opportunities in the 4G market. Consequently, it has signed a deal with Ceragon Networks Ltd. (CRNT) to deploy the superfast 4G network nationwide.

  A Valuable Stock

  Telef贸nica Brasil has a healthy balance sheet with strong cash flow generation (up to 9,576 million in 2013 from 3,488 million in 2011) and reasonable debt levels. Its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio is of 0.17 times and it has a debt- to-equity ratio of 0.2 against its peers��average of 0.9. Its financial strength and a robust dividend have attracted investment gurus like Charles Brandes (Trades, Portfolio) and David Dreman (Trades, Portfolio), who have recently incorporated the company to its portfolio.

  Considering the stock�� trading price of 14.6x its trailing earnings compared to the peer group average of 16.90x, and a compelling dividend yield of 7.30 with a payout ratio of 1.1 (against its competitors��median of 3.53 and 0.62, respectively), I believe this stock is a worthy investment opportunity with excellent growth potential.

  Disclosure: Vanina Egea holds no position in any stocks mentioned.

  Also check out: Charles Brandes Undervalued Stocks Charles Brandes Top Growth Companies Charles Brandes High Yield stocks, and Stocks that Charles Brandes keeps buyingAbout the author:Vanina EgeaA fundamental analyst at Lone Tree Analytics

  Visit Vanina Egea's Website

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  Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote)

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Top Regional Bank Companies To Buy For 2014: Oaktree Capital Group LLC (OAK)

Oaktree Capital Group, LLC (Oaktree) is a global investment management firm focused on alternative markets. Oaktree manages funds in investment strategies that fall into the six asset classes, which include distressed debt, corporate debt, control investing, convertible securities, real estate and listed equities. As of June 30, 2011, the Company�� assets under management (AUM) totaled $79.5 billion. The Company�� manager is Oaktree Capital Group Holdings GP, LLC. The Company manages assets on behalf of other institutional investors in the world, including 70 of the 100 United States pension plans, 37 states in the United States, over 350 corporations, over 300 university and charitable endowments and foundations, and over 150 non-United States institutional investors, including six of the top 10 sovereign wealth fund nations.

Funds managed by Oaktree include both separate accounts and commingled funds. The commingled funds include open-end and closed-end limited partnerships for which the Company or a subsidiary serves as the general partner or, in certain limited cases, co-general partner. Oaktree makes principal investments in these funds.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tim Melvin]

  I would suggest buying stocks that qualify and holding the shares as long as the F-score stays the same or improves, and selling if the score declines below 6. It is more of an active strategy, but it should provide cash flow and keep your capital invested in stocks with solid fundamentals. Although our major concern is income, I don�� want to overpay for shares so I would limit my purchases to those that traded for less than their Graham number valuation.

  Oaktree Capital (OAK)

  Oaktree Capital (OAK) is one of the best investment management firms in the world today. CEO Howard Marks has proven himself to be a brilliant investment manager, WHICH has helped the firm grow to more than $74 billion in assets under management.

• [By Robert Rapier]

  In contrast with the steady distribution at IEP, investors in Oaktree Capital (NYSE: OAK) saw a 50 percent sequential payout cut as the prior payment was boosted by the profitable liquidation of an unusually large distressed debt fund. Still, this top alternative asset manager remains on track with 30 percent year-over-year growth in distributable earnings and $3.7 billion of gross capital raised for the quarter. Oaktree units initially slumped 5 percent on earnings news, but much of that discount evaporated in a matter of hours, underscoring strong investor support for this partnership, which has given us a 10 percent capital gain in under two months. Continue buying OAK on pullbacks below $56.

• [By Amanda Alix]

  The investment-to-REIT model is alive and well
  Before the very end of last year, those involved in the single-family purchase and rental business were largely private equity groups�like the Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX  ) , Colony Financial (NYSE: CLNY  ) , and Oaktree Capital (NYSE: OAK  ) , which bought up distressed properties by the truckload.

Top Regional Bank Companies To Buy For 2014: Baoye Group Co Ltd (BKG)

Baoye Group Company Limited is engaged in the provision of construction service, manufacture and distribution of building materials and development and sale of properties. The Company three segments: construction, which includes provision of construction services; property development, which includes development and sale of properties, and building materials, which includes manufacture and distribution of building materials. Its subsidiaries include Zhejiang Baoye Construction Group Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Curtain Wall Decoration Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Infrastructure Construction Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Guangyi Construction and Decoration Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Real Estate Group Co., Ltd., Shaoxing Baoye Four Seasons Garden Real Estate Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Building Materials Industrialisation Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Baoye Steel Structure Co., Ltd. and others. During the year ended 31 December 2011, the Company acquired three parcels of new land in Wuhan, Shanghai, and Henan. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Inyoung Hwang]

  Berkeley Group Holdings Plc (BKG) surged 8.3 percent after saying first-half profit rose 22 percent. London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LSE) climbed 2.4 percent after Bank of America Corp.�� Merrill Lynch unit recommended buying the stock. Givaudan SA (GIVN) lost 1.3 percent after Nestle SA said it will sell $1.27 billion of shares in the world�� largest flavorings maker.

Top Regional Bank Companies To Buy For 2014: 7 Days Group Holdings Limited(SVN)

7 Days Group Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates a chain of limited service economy hotels under the brand name of 7 Days Inn in China. The company provides accommodations and services primarily to business and leisure travelers. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 568 hotels in operation, including 247 managed hotels, with 56,410 hotel rooms in 89 cities, as well as 197 hotels with 19,345 hotel rooms under conversion. The company was founded in 2004 and is based in Guangzhou, China.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Chinese economy hotel chain 7 Days Group (NYSE: SVN  ) announced today that the company's shareholders had approved the going-private proposal that was offered up on Feb. 28.�Approximately 88.3% of the hotel chain's shares voted on the proposal, and approximately 86% voted in favor of it.�

Top Regional Bank Companies To Buy For 2014: China Banking Corp (CHIB)

China Banking Corporation (CHIB) is a Philippines-based company engaged in the business as the privately owned local commercial bank in the Philippines. The Bank caters to the Chinese-Filipino commercial sector, retail and consumer segments. The Bank�� market consists of the corporate, commercial, middle and retail markets. Its businesses include deposit taking, corporate and middle market lending, retail loans including mortgage and auto loans, investment banking, insurance products through its subsidiaries, treasury and foreign exchange trading, trust and investment management, wealth management, cash management, Internet banking and mobile banking services, inward remittances through tie-ups with remittance companies and exchange houses in the Middle East, Asia and United States cities. Effective January 17, 2014 China Banking Corp acquired a 84.77% interest in Planters Development Bank. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By pamatlarge]

  Investors looking to short a particular sector can choose from several Global X long ETFs. The Global X China Consumer ETF (CHIQ) concentrates its investments in consumer cyclical goods and consumer defense goods. The Global X China Energy ETF (CHIE) primarily holds stocks in coal, oil and utility companies. The Global X China Financials ETF (CHIX) only invests in financial services companies and real estate companies. The Global X China Industrials ETF (CHII) holds stocks in industrial companies and basic materials companies. The Global X China Materials ETF (CHIM) invests in basic materials stocks. The Global X China Technology ETF (CHIB) holds technology stocks as the core of its investments. All of these ETFs are particularly sensitive to sector downturns and general economic contractions.