A Stock Pick for (Almost) Every State
2019 is a year to break the mold. Deliver and obtain more value per effort and minute. So I'm giving myself "literary license" to step out of my review-one-bank-stock-at-a-time format.This month, I took inventory of my current community bank stock holdings "by State" to let others "in" on my portfolio and research a bit more.
If you've been following me, you know I believe America and Americans would be well served to invest in our community banks. Hopefully this exercise will help everyday investors across the country to see opportunities close to home.
Disclosure: As of this posting, I own shares of all the bank stocks reviewed in the Timyan Bank Alert except $TBBK, $CDAB, $MELR, $CESO and $PUB, and I may subsequently either dispose of them or purchase more. For full disclosure, please note, I personally own many other bank stocks that are not represented in the Timyan Bank Alert portfolio or record.
Timyan's Top Community Bank Stock Pick(s) Per State as of January 2019
Some of these I have reviewed previously. Just click the stock symbol to access its most recent Timyan Bank Alert review.
State
|
Stock
|
Why It’s My Favorite in The State
|
Yield
|
P/B
|
P/E
|
AK
|
DENI
|
Denali Bancorporation — stock is cheap and directors own over 20%.
|
5.7%
|
104%
|
12x
|
AL
|
United Bancorporation of Alabama – has high returns, low price and does good in local Opportunity Zones.
|
0.7%
|
117%
|
6x
| |
AR
|
OZK
|
Bank of the Ozarks — stock is cheap from being overly punished by the market for two bad loans.
|
3.3%
|
93%
|
8x
|
AZ
|
MPHX
|
MetroPhoenix Bank — not great, but the only one I own since State Bank $SBAZ got too expensive.
|
0%
|
128%
|
15x
|
CA
|
Northern California National — stock in Chico's hometown bank is undervalued, earns good money, and has high takeover appeal.
|
1%
|
125%
|
12x
| |
CO
|
Solera National – Marty May expertly runs this one-branch bank and it’s fair to assume Chairman Michael Quagliano will want a return on his investment in 22% of the stock.
|
0%
|
110%
|
15x
| |
CT
|
BWFG
|
Bankwell Financial Group — Larry Seidman is the largest investor and he makes things happen for shareholders.
|
1.7%
|
129%
|
13x
|
DE
|
TBBK
|
Bancorp, Inc — I don’t own this or any other Delaware-based bank, but board members Shiv Govinden and John Eggemeyer are savvy bank directors.
|
0%
|
121%
|
8x
|
FL
|
FCIT
|
First Citrus Bank — I love the team Jack Barrett has put together in Tampa and especially love recent results:1.3% ROA and 15% ROE.
|
0%
|
132%
|
11x
|
GA
|
CCF Holding Co — my largest holding. I love Leonard Moreland’s turnaround, have high hopes for the amalgamation of the two Heritage Banks and Providence Bank, and trust largest shareholder and Chairman, Ken Lehman.
|
0%
|
110%
|
15x
| |
HI
|
OHPB
|
Ohana Pacific Bank in Honolulu — it’s ugly, but cheap. I’m hoping they sell to someone who knows what they’re doing.
|
0%
|
87%
|
13x
|
IA
|
MOFG
|
MidWestOne Financial — it’s selling nearly 30% below their last stock offering. I hope they’ll either get their returns in line with peers or sell the bank.
|
3%
|
89%
|
9x
|
ID
|
CDAB
|
Couer d’Alene Bancorp — earnings like these plus a slight discount to book make it hard to resist this tiny gem.
|
2.7%
|
98%
|
12x
|
IL
|
RYFL
|
Royal Financial — DISCLOSURE: I own 9.99% and have been a director since 2011, but I like Royal’s footprint in the backyards of serial acquirers FMBI and WTFC.
|
0%
|
105%
|
9x
|
IN
|
MFSF
|
MutualFirst Financial — attractive takeover target owned by two activist investors, PL Capital and Ancora Advisors.
|
2.93%
|
121%
|
10x
|
KS
|
BVBC
|
Blue Valley Ban Corp — a tad pricey, but very valuable branch network near Kansas City, with an ace director, Tony Scavuzzo of Castle Creek.
SOLD 01/16/2019
|
0%
|
142%
|
9x
|
KY
|
KFFB
|
Kentucky First Federal — returns are inadequate, so I hope they one day do a full conversion and sell three years later.
*Price to book would be 60% under full conversion scenario
|
5.8%
|
111%*
|
20x
|
LA
|
CTUY
|
Century Next Financial Corp — it’s undervalued and the perfect acquisition candidate for First Guaranty Bancshares.
|
3%
|
107%
|
11x
|
MA
|
MELR
|
Melrose Bancorp — only buy this if you believe activist investors Seidman and Maltese will be successful in pressing for a sale.
|
3%
|
105%
|
28x
|
MD
|
Delmar Bancorp — earnings are improving rapidly and Chairman Ken Lehman is heavily invested in turning a profit on his 41% ownership.
|
1.4%
|
112%
|
9x
| |
ME
|
KTHN
|
Katahdin Bankshares — it’s cheap and has a branch network that should be appealing to acquirers.
|
2.6%
|
96%
|
9x
|
MI
|
EFIN
|
Eastern Michigan Financial of Crosswell — Michigan has many great publicly traded community banks, but this 127 year old has the cheapest stock.
|
2.94%
|
82%
|
9x
|
MN
|
Merchants Financial Group of Winona — my hands down favorite for the State, big enough for the Russell Index and trades for a fraction of its true value.
|
2.1%
|
107%
|
10x
| |
MO
|
LBCP
|
Kansas City’s Liberty Bancorp — I’ve owned it since its conversion in 2005, because it has stayed too cheap to sell.
|
1.1%
|
115%
|
9x
|
MS
|
CIZN
|
Citizens of Arkadelphia — nice dividend, but Citizens never earns enough to justify its independence.
|
4.7%
|
125%
|
14x
|
MT
|
EBMT
|
Eagle Bancorp — pickings are slim for cheap bank stocks in Montana. This is it.
|
2%
|
107%
|
13x
|
NC
|
UWHR
|
Uwharrie Capital — if this one sells, it’ll pay off. If not, I’ll be stuck holding a cheap bank stock with crummy returns.
|
0%
|
103%
|
20x
|
ND
|
BNCC
|
BNCCORP — could more than double if sold, and many activists and unhappy shareholders are pushing for just that.
|
0%
|
101%
|
13x
|
NE
|
FINN
|
First National of Nebraska — an undervalued, high performing, 150 year old family run bank.
|
0%
|
109%
|
10x
|
NH
|
Northway Financial — expertly run by the energetic Bill Woodward for the past 43 years.
|
2.4%
|
102%
|
12x
| |
NJ
|
PKBK
|
Parke Bancorp — started in a trailer by one of my favorite bankers, Vito Pantilione. Now it has $1.3B in assets in seven branches making it the envy of acquisitive banks in the area.
|
3%
|
135%
|
11x
|
NM
|
None
|
Unfortunately, there are no community bank stocks in New Mexico that I want to own.
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
NV
|
None
|
Sadly, there are no publicly traded community banks headquartered in Nevada.
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
NY
|
GLDT
|
Gold Coast Bancorp in Islandia — a valuable franchise, 22% management owned, but it doesn’t earn enough to remain independent. I’m hoping it sells.
|
0%
|
93%
|
25x
|
OH
|
CBKM
|
Consumers Bancorp in Minerva — steady insider purchases at higher prices are a clue that this stock will soon be worth more.
|
3%
|
108%
|
9x
|
OK
|
CESO
|
Central Service Corp — a nice 100-year old institution to own a stake in, if you can find shares near a $30 bid price.
|
0%
|
46%
|
8x
|
OR
|
CLAT
|
Clatsop Community Bank — cheap for a reason. It’s ten years old and still doesn’t make enough money to be independent. Original shareholders are still under water. Needs to sell!
|
2.1%
|
94%
|
19x
|
PA
|
First Resource Bank, Chester County PA — I'm not alone in rating it the best bank in the wealthiest county in the state (PRN Newswire 10/30/2018)
|
0%
|
100%
|
11x
| |
PA
|
Embassy Bank — David Lobach built it from scratch, it's been a wonderful stock for ten years, and I expect it to keep performing.
|
1.2%
|
130%
|
10x
| |
PA
|
Franklin Financial Services — instituted a share buyback and is listing on NASDAQ. I anticipate the stock will be added to the Russell Index in June.
|
3.4%
|
123%
|
10x
| |
RI
|
WASH
|
Washington Trust Bancorp — a bit pricey, but the only community bank headquartered in Rhode Island.
|
3.6%
|
212%
|
13x
|
SC
|
SFDL
|
Security Federal — Chairman Timothy Simmons' 22% ownership stake gives me confidence this bank's value will keep growing.
|
1.3%
|
107%
|
13x
|
SD
|
GWB
|
Great Western — has done a great job building this bank organically and via acquisition.
|
2.9%
|
109%
|
11x
|
TN
|
IBTN
|
Nashville’s Inscorp — it’s the cheapest thing in a great market, but I wish they would improve their deposit mix.
|
1.2%
|
117%
|
12x
|
TX
|
CADE
|
Cadence — the stock has been punished too much for its purchase of State Bank of Georgia.
|
3.3%
|
107%
|
9x
|
UT
|
PUB
|
Peoples Utah Bancorp — Utah's one and only publicly traded community bank, but it is a beauty! I just wish it were cheaper...
|
1.5%
|
204%
|
14x
|
VA
|
MNSB
|
MainStreet Bancshares — this bank is in a great market, growing, and likely to sell sooner or later.
|
0%
|
126%
|
11x
|
VT
|
MDVT
|
Middlebury National Corp — going strong for 188 years and holds 60% of the deposits in its home town.
|
2.7%
|
96%
|
11x
|
WA
|
PPBB
|
Peoples Bancorp — a valuable franchise with superior returns and good prospects for selling.
|
0%
|
145%
|
10x
|
WI
|
S.B.C.P Bancorp — it's in a great market and run by a great banker, Jim Tubbs.
|
2%
|
103%
|
8x
| |
WV
|
PTBS
|
Potomac Bancshares — good things usually happen for shareholders in Mike Voinovich's deals and he just raised capital here.
|
2%
|
121%
|
13x
|
WY
|
CRZY
|
How could I not pick Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp? Especially with Joe Helmer on their board.
|
1.9%
|
85%
|
12x
|
