Timyan's 2022 Top Stock Picks
2022 is a year for recovery. The bank stock picks below fall into the following — not mutually exclusive — categories:
- You can buy the stock today for less than it is worth,
- You could profit when valuations catch up,
- You could earn a windfall if the bank sells, and/or
- The dividends provide a nice return.
- I now have a clear favorite in Pennsylvania.
- Three California banks made the list.
- Virginia – more than once named Top State for Business by CNBC – presents six bargain bank stocks
- This year’s list features banks in a few US territories and one British territory.
Disclosure: As of this posting, I own shares of all the bank stocks reviewed in the Timyan Bank Alert except $BKGM, $DBIN, $EQBK, $WASH and $WSFS, 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 Picks as of January 2022
Stocks I have reviewed previously include links to their 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 still cheap and directors still own over 20%. | 6% | 100% | 14x |
AL | AUBN | Auburn National BanCorp – In a great market, and an acquirer could put the bank’s deposits to much better use. | 3.3 | 107% | 14x |
AR | WRIV | White River Bancshares – Solid bank in a growing market with strong operators, so it’s reasonable to expect the stock to catch up with its peers. | 2.5% | 99% | 11x |
AZ | HRRB | Horizon Bancorp – Fingers crossed that they’ve learned from declining previous chances to sell for far more than today’s trading price. | 0% | 105% | 7x |
CA | Exchange Bank – Stock price has lagged in spite of the bank’s outperforming peers on every return metric. Time will correct this. | 3% | 82% | 7x | |
CA | SMAL | Summit Bancshares – We know since 2018 they’re open to a sale and the stock is worth even more today, so I’m banking on a return. | 1% | 111% | 17x |
CA | UBFO | United Security Bancshares – Founder and Chairman Dennis Woods is in his 70s and owns over a million shares. I hope he’ll cash his check and enjoy retirement. | 5.5% | 115% | 15x |
CO | Solera National – CEO Marty May has left since our 2019 pick list, Chairman Quagliano bought a plane and put his daughter on the board. So, hmmm —but — the stock is cheap and still performing, so far. | 0% | 9% | 5x | |
CT | BWFG | Bankwell Financial Group — The bank’s largest investor, Larry Seidman, is now on the board, and operations are rapidly improving. | 2.3% | 128% | 13x |
DE | WSFS | WSFS Financial – Great bank, but like its only peer in the state (TBBK), too expensive to get excited about from an investment perspective. | 1% | 176% | 9x |
FL | PBKC | Pioneer Bankorp – Cheapest bank in the state, and the airport expansion in Clewiston will drive growth. | 1.9% | 95% | 9x |
GA | Exchange Bankshares – Trading for 30% of what it can sell for, and timely bank buybacks are driving growth in book value. | 2.3% | 69% | 7x | |
HI | CPF | Central Pacific Financial – If you’re into fintech, this is cheap way to get it, with the added plus of a nice dividend. | 3.6% | 140% | 11x |
IA | MOFG | MidWestOne Financial — As hoped, the bank has gotten returns in line with peers. It also acquired an underperforming bank at great price, so stock price is likely to rise. | 2.7% | 96% | 7x |
ID | IDFB | Peak Bancorp – Currently the cheapest community bank stock in the state. | 0% | 104% | 7x |
IL | QCRH | QCR Holdings – The bank has consistently beat its earnings estimates. | 0.4% | 133% | 9x |
IN | SVBT | SVB & T Corp – This family-founded bank stock is high-performing, cheap, and in good hands with CEO Jamie Shinabarger. | 1% | 97% | 7x |
KS | EQBK | Equity Bancshares – Priced comparable to its peers in the state, but has the lowest P/E. | 1% | 115% | 10x |
KY | LMST | Limestone Bancorp – Stock is cheap, and key players collectively own over 40%. In other words, the team here is highly incented to keep creating value. | 0% | 112% | 10x |
LA | CTUY | Century Next Financial Corp — Still undervalued and still the perfect acquisition candidate for First Guaranty Bancshares. | 0.8% | 101% | 9x |
MA | WNEB | Western New England Bancorp – The bank is repurchasing stock, operations are improving, and there’s still a gap between its 2006 and current price. | 2.3% | 90% | 9x |
MD | CMHF | Community Heritage Financial – Good performance at a discount compared to its peers in the state. | 0.7% | 90% | 8x |
ME | KTHN | Katahdin Bankshares — Still cheap with a branch network that should be appealing to acquirers. | 2% | 99% | 8x |
MI | STBI | Sturgis Bancorp – Far cheaper than its peers, in spite of stronger performance and a unique trust business. | 3.5% | 80% | 6x |
MN | Merchants Financial Group of Winona — Still my favorite in the state, still trading for a fraction of its true value, (although no longer big enough for the Russell Index). | 2.2% | 90% | 7x | |
MO | HWBK | Hawthorn Bancshares – Another cheap stock I anticipate will catch up, since the bank is performing far better than average and industry investor Jon Holtaway is on the board. | 2.4% | 120% | 8x |
MS | BFCC | BankFirst Capital – The bank is making shrewd acquisitions and adding value along the way so this stock likely won’t stay this cheap for long. | 2.2% | 100% | 9x |
MT | EBMT | Eagle Bancorp Montana — Pickings are still slim for cheap bank stocks in Montana. EBMT is still it. | 2.2% | 100% | 9x |
NC | BKOR | Oak Ridge Financial Services — Hard to misfire at this price for a very decent bank. | 1.6% | 97% | 7x |
ND | BNCC | BNCCORP — Still cheap and the board has shareholders in mind. | % | 110% | 5x |
NE | FINN | First National of Nebraska — Still reasonably priced for a solid, 150 year old family run bank. | 0% | 125% | 7x |
NH | Northway Financial – Performance has slipped since 2019, but it’s the envy of would-be acquirers and investors like me want to see it sold. | 2.6% | 91% | 11x | |
NJ | First Commerce Bank — Three years past their own declared target sell-by date, but performing well and I have no reason to believe their plans have changed. | 0% | 82% | 8x | |
NM | BCTF | Bancorp 34 Inc – The only game in town and not bad. | 1.5% | 85% | 9x |
NV | GBFH | GBank Financial – Happily, there is now a publicly traded community bank headquartered in Nevada! It’s expensive, but rapidly growing a unique business. | 0% | 170% | 14x |
NY | PCSB | PCSB Financial — Valuable underutilized franchise in a great market. Now that the three year conversion moratorium has passed, I’m hoping to see it sell. | 1.3% | 107% | 20x |
OH | CFBK | CF Bankshares — A high performing bank, with fully invested management, that investors suspect will sell. | 0.75% | 115% | 7x |
OK | BSVN | Bank7 Corp — A very high performing stock that was overly punished by the Chairman’s large sale a few weeks ago. | 2.1% | 160% | 9x |
OR | LWCL | Lewis & Clark Bancorp — Rumor has it the bank came close to selling pre-pandemic, and I think it will sooner or later. | 0.9% | 102% | 9x |
PA | FRBK | Republic First Bancorp – CEO Vernon Hill wants investors to fund new branches. Investors want to see the bank sold. Given the stock’s current price, investors are right. | 0% | 80% | 12x |
RI | WASH | Washington Trust Bancorp — Still pricey, still the only community bank headquartered in Rhode Island. To boot, it’s a great bank that pays a nice dividend. | 3.8% | 176% | 13x |
SC | SFDL | Security Federal Corp — When a Director named Spooky Weeks owns 10% and Chairman Timothy Simmons still owns 22%, I can’t say no. | 1.4% | 89% | 8x |
SD | DBIN | Dakota Banks — Not a bad bank in a state with few choices. | 1.8% | 107% | 12x |
TN | IBTN | InsCorp — Still the cheapest bank stock in a great market, and they are improving their deposit mix as I’d hoped. | 1.2% | 102% | 10x |
TX | NODB | North Dallas Bank & Trust – The underperformance here is so great, I can’t advise buying unless you have reason to believe they’ll sell. I’m betting on it. | 1.3% | 119% | 25x |
UT | None | There are no publicly traded community bank stocks in Utah on my current buy list. | – | – | – |
VA | BOTJ | Bank of the James Financial – Stock price lags franchise value. The wealth management acquisition alone should add 20% to earnings. | 1.8% | 110% | 10x |
VA | FDVA | Freedom Financial Holdings – Prior to this gig, CEO Joe Thomas built and sold Bay Bank for a premium. That’s all I need to know. | 0% | 120% | 9x |
VA | MSNB | MainStreet Bancshares — I expect they’ll likely fulfill on their stated mission to sell the bank, in spite of their dinking around the past few years. | 0% | 120% | 8x |
VA | Parkway Acquisition – More than decent operators taking advantage of low valuations to repurchase stock. I will be with them when the market corrects. | 2% | 88% | 9x | |
VA | TSBA | Touchstone Bankshares – Decent operators taking advantage of low valuations to repurchase stock. I will be them when the market corrects. | 2.46% | 78% | 10x |
VA | VBFC | Village Bank & Trust – Likely to sell at some point, but it’s building value so fast I’m enjoying the wait. | 1% | 139% | 7x |
VT | MDVT | Middlebury National Corp – I love this little, woman-run bank more every time I look at it. (CEO Linda Harmon has run it since 1995). I’d buy more, but it’s very thinly traded. | 2.5% | 90% | 9x |
WA | SFBC | Sound Financial – An affordable stock in a solid woman-run bank. Laurie Stewart is in her 70s, has been CEO since 1989, and has earned a break. | 1.5% | 127% | 11x |
WI | PSB Holding – An undervalued high performer that is highly attractive to prospective acquirers. | 1.8% | 105% | 9x | |
WV | JFWV | Jefferson Security Bank – Stock price currently lags how the bank’s performance suggests it should be priced. | 2.1% | 90% | 8x |
WY | CRZY | Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp – Call me crazy — it’s been a slow climber — but it’s still cheap, the only community bank in Wyoming, and accretively buying back stock. Someday, it’ll reach book. | 1.3% | 90% | 8x |
GU | BKGM | BankGuam Holding – The only game in the territory, and it is cheap. | 3.6% | 0.7% | 6x |
PR | BPOP | Popular, Inc – Not a community bank stock, per se, but it’s the cheapest bank stock in Puerto Rico’s red hot market. | 2.2% | 108% | 7x |
BM | NTB | Bank of NT Butterfield & Son – Expensive to book, but cheap on earnings. Pays a great dividend, has superior returns, and benefits from location in a tax haven. | 4.6% | 200% | 12x |
