UPDATE: 2019 Stock Picks for (Almost) Every State

UPDATE: 2019 Stock Picks for (Almost) Every State

After a pandemic hiatus, Timyan Bank Alert is back to life.

Thank you to loyal readers and Twitter followers for the encouragement to resume! We hope 2022 marks a positive turn in your health, wealth, and happiness.  

A few highlights from our New Year’s update on Timyan’s 2019 Stock Pick For (Almost) Every State: 

• Of our 50 picks, 15 sold — one to a bank that also sold. 
• Many 2019 picks are up by 50% or more. 
• Only two of our picks declined over the three year period — CIZN and PPBB. 
• Our best performer by far was BNCC, up 290% on top of two special dividend payouts. 
• Our second best performer was TBBK, up 162%. 
• Three of our picks roughly doubled, and two of those sold — NCNB, MPHX, UWHR. 

Stay tuned for Timyan's new favorite buys in every state.

---

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.

Status of 2019 Community Bank Stock Pick(s) Per State

Where applicable, click the stock symbol to access its most recent Timyan Bank Alert review.

State	Stock	How Timyan’s 2019 Picks Performed Against the NASDAQ Bank Index	3-Year Price Change
AK	DENI	Denali Bancorporation — Vastly underperformed, but I still have faith and have been trying to increase my holdings in this thinly-traded little gem.	14%
AL	UBAB	United Bancorporation of Alabama – Outperformed. I’m holding and still love the bank’s mission.	42%
AR	OZK	Bank of the Ozarks — Outperformed by a factor of two. Its construction portfolio has held up well. I’ve been selling to buy cheaper banks, perhaps misguidedly.	78%
AZ	MPHX	MetroPhoenix Bank — An old FIG recap that outperformed and sold to INBK. Big thanks to investor and Director Eric Grubelich for excellent leadership.	91%	SOLD
CA	NCNB	Northern California National — Outperformed and sold to the founders of Plaid. Bittersweet to see the subject of my all-time favorite Bank Alert review sell, but I’m grateful that Management honored John Luchessi’s vision and principles.	97%	SOLD
CO	SLRK	Solera National – Performed with Index. Posting good results, stock too cheap to sell, governance is questionable. I’m holding on, but miss former CEOs Marty May and Bob Fenton.	33%
CT	BWFG	Bankwell Financial Group — Underperformed, but I love the fast-improving fundamentals and am encouraged now that activist investor Larry Seidman is on the board.	23%
DE	TBBK	Bancorp, Inc — Outperformed four-fold. New CEO Damian Kozlowski and institutional investor Castle Creek’s John Eggemeyer are doing a great job here.	162%
FL	FCIT	First Citrus Bank — Vastly underperformed, but I expect that to change. CEO Jack Barrett is building a wonderful franchise.	17%
GA	CCFH	CCF Holding Co — Performed with Index, made two acquisitions, became HSBI, and sold to VyStar Credit Union.	37%	SOLD
HI	OHPB	Ohana Pacific Bank in Honolulu — Slightly outperformed, and sold to CBB Bancorp. Turned out to be less of a mess than I had thought.	40%	SOLD
IA	MOFG	MidWestOne Financial — Underperformed. Since it is still cheap and fundamentals are improving, I’m holding on.	28%
ID	CDAB	Couer d’Alene Bancorp — Performed with Index, but isn’t the bargain buy it was in 2019.	35%
IL	RYFL	Royal Financial — Outperformed, and sold to Peoples Bank (FNWD). Many thanks to Chairman Jim Fitch for outstanding leadership.	50%	SOLD
IN	MFSF	MutualFirst Financial —Outperformed, and sold to Northwest Bancshares (NWBI).	54%	SOLD
KS	BVBC	Blue Valley BanCorp — Underperformed, and sold to Heartland Financial (HTLF).	27%	SOLD
KY	KFFB	Kentucky First Federal — Grossly underperformed. This may continue, but I’ll hold as long as the dividend checks keep rolling in.	5%
LA	CTUY	Century Next Financial Corp — Vastly underperformed. The bank is in a good market, CEO Bill Hogan is its largest shareholder, and the stock is cheap, so I’m all for it.	17%
MA	MELR	Melrose Bancorp — Outperformed, and sold to Cambridge Savings Bank.	47%	SOLD
MD	DBCP	Delmar Bancorp — Outperformed, bought Virginia Partners Bank, became PTRS, and then sold to OceanFirst Financial (OCFC).	42%	SOLD
ME	KTHN	Katahdin Bankshares — Outperformed. This bank is in attractive markets and run by a strong team. Still a buy in my book.	53%
MI	EFIN	Eastern Michigan Financial — Outperformed. Still a stock I can stand behind.	55%
MN	MFGI	Merchants Financial Group of Winona — Vastly underperformed. The bank is operationally strong, so I anticipate its share price will catch up.	17%
MO	LBCP	Kansas City’s Liberty Bancorp — Outperformed, and sold to Central Bancompany. CEO Brent Giles should be commended for the value he created since the bank’s 2006 conversion from a mutual thrift.	75%	SOLD
MS	CIZN	Citizens Holding Company — Dramatically declined, proving this bank should be sold to stronger operators. Not a wise stock buy, unless you think they’ll sell.	- 14%
MT	EBMT	Eagle Bancorp — Performed with Index.	39%
NC	UWHR	Uwharrie Capital — Outperformed by nearly double the Index, and still not expensive. Kudos to CEO Roger Lee Dick for improving this franchise.	94%
ND	BNCC	BNCCORP — Outperformed by a factor of eight, and still not expensive. I’m grateful to Chairman Vekich and activist investor John Palmer for taking charge, and much enjoyed the $14 in special dividends.	290%
NE	FINN	First National of Nebraska — Outperformed, a great old bank, and still not too expensive in spite of the increased stock price.	75%
NH	NWYF	Northway Financial — Vastly underperformed, and desperately needs more transparent and effective operators. I hope this valuable franchise sells to one of the many banks that would love to acquire it.	14%
NJ	PKBK	Parke Bancorp — Underperformed, but CEO Vito Pantilione is building value faster than share prices reflect, so I’m anticipating a nice little windfall sooner or later.	23%
NM	None	I didn’t have any top picks for this state in 2019.	N/A
NV	None	I didn’t have any top picks for this state in 2019.	N/A
NY	GLDT	Gold Coast Bancorp — Outperformed, and sold to Investors Savings Bank (ISBC), which in turn, sold to Citizens Financial Group (CFG). Gold Coast Management’s 22% stake was a great omen for investors.	50%	SOLD x2
OH	CBKM	Consumers Bancorp — Performed with Index. Not bad — just an average bank in every regard, and still cheap relative to franchise value.	32%
OK	CESO	Central Service Corp — The bank is great, but shares and share price info are still proving impossible to find.	N/A
OR	CLAT	Clatsop Community Bank — Outperformed, and sold to Louis and Clark Bancorp (LWCL).	47%	SOLD
PA	FRSB	First Resource Bank — Performed with Index. Still rated the best bank in the wealthiest county in Pennsylvania. (See MyChesCo 11/02/2020)	38%
PA	EMYB	Embassy Bank — Outperformed. Still strong, still cheap, still a buy in my book.	50%
PA	FRAF	Franklin Financial Services — Grossly underperformed, but so cheap, there’s likely nowhere for it to go but up.	6%
RI	WASH	Washington Trust Bancorp — Underperformed, but still a very nice, well-run bank.	22%
SC	SFDL	Security Federal — Vastly underperformed, but still way too cheap, and insiders are certainly well-incented to capitalize on its potential.	14%
SD	GWB	Great Western Bancorp — Grossly underperformed, and sold to First Interstate BancSystem (FIBK).	9%	SOLD
TN	IBTN	InsCorp — Vastly underperformed, but the fundamentals are improving. The stock is still cheap and I have high hopes.	12%
TX	CADE	Cadence — Vastly underperformed, and sold to Bancorp South (BXS).	11%	SOLD
UT	PUB	Peoples Utah Bancorp —Outperformed, and sold to Glacier Bancorp (GBCI) after changing its name to ALTA.	52%	SOLD
VA	MNSB	MainStreet Bancshares — Outperformed. I expect they’ll likely fulfill on their stated mission to sell the bank, in spite of their dinking around the past few years.	43%
VT	MDVT	Middlebury National Corp — Underperformed, but this little gem of a bank is still a good buy.	28%
WA	PPBB	Peoples Bancorp — Slightly declined. One of just two losers from the 2019 bank stock pick list. Personal opinion:  CEO Charles LeCocq is dishonest, nepotistic, and acting like the bank is his personal property. I’m sad I own this stock.	- 6%
WI	SBBI	S.B.C.P Bancorp — Performed with Index. CEO Jim Tubbs has doubled the bank’s equity since 2016.	30%
WV	PTBS	Potomac Bancshares — Underperformed, but the bank’s fundamentals have vastly improved.	28%
WY	CRZY	Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp — Outperformed. Bank management is doing the right things (like issuing sub debt and repurchasing stock), and shares are still cheap.	56%

UPDATE: Brunswick Bancorp, Brunswick, NJ (BRBW)

Four hundred and fifty five days after my April 2017 Review of Brunswick Bancorp, head scoundrel Roman Gumina met his Maker.

In death there is hope! If Roman's successor Uncle Frank Junior can right side the bank's expenses, it's entirely plausible we could see a resurrection of BRBW share price to $14. Were Uncle Frankie to sell the bank, Brunswick stock could conceivably garner the same.

Question is, how much of Roman Gumina's greed is embodied in the bank's operational design and family management DNA? In his wake, is BRBW a bargain buy or a pile of dead money?

---

Disclosure: As of this posting, I own shares of BRBW and may subsequently either dispose of them or purchase more.

Prospective Buyers	Still true today: The $95M of deposits in Brunswick's Livingston Ave branch headquarters might be appealing to area institutions, but I doubt any buyer would be interested in the 4 out of 7 other branches struggling to manage less than $9M each. Amboy Bancorp, Old Bridge, NJ (private) Magyar Bancorp, New Brunswick, NJ (MGYR) Provident Financial Services, Iselin, NJ (PFS)
Financial Snapshot †as of 06/30/2018	Total assets: $187M† Tangible book value per share:      $12.50† NPAs to assets: 4.6%† Price to book: 70% Market cap: $26.5M Dividend yield: 0% Trailing 12-month ROA: 0.3%† Trailing 12-month ROE: 1.7%†
Scoundrels	Frank Gumina, Jr, Interim Chairman Nicholas A. Frungillo, Jr, President and CEO Frank J. Gumina III, Esq, Vice President, Bank Counsel
Red Flag	My concerns about Brunswick Bank & Trust are essentially unchanged since my April 2017 review. The bank's expenses are way out of line with industry norms or anything justifiable (see table below). Roman Gumina owned at least 10 unrelated entities, and money is still flowing from the bank to some of them. More than half the bank's branches are too small to be profitable, and should be closed. NPA's are 4x current industry average. Here's what I'd love to see Management do (and, what fiscal responsibility requires): Cut Occupancy and Other Expenses in half! That alone should add $450K to pre-tax earnings and produce triple last quarter’s earnings. Cut the asking price of REO low enough to sell it, then put the proceeds into earning assets. That could add another $160K to the pre-tax income. Don't spend the late Gumina’s $310,000/year salary on anyone or anything new. That's cash straight to the bottom line. Do these three things, and watch earnings rise six-fold! How Brunswick Bank's expenses compare to peers'. 1 not including rent charged for Bank use of Gumina properties 2 a Timyan Bank Alert favorite in NJ 3 in the two quarters prior to close of merger with SB One Bancorp (SBBX)
Sources	Brunswick Bank & Trust website Roman Gumina Obituary June 2018 Call Report SNL Financial Confidential interviews with shareholders and analysts

Banc of California, Irvine, CA (BANC)

A Case of Sticking it to the "Sugar" Man

What more can I say about Steven Sugarman's slippery hands in the Banc of California cookie jar than PL Capital already has in recent 13D filings? Isn't it high time these Scoundrels stop sweetening their salaries and start "Cleaning Up" like Sugarman's apparent doppelgänger and hero Barry Minkow's purporting to do?

---

Disclosure: As of this posting, I own shares of BANC and may subsequently either dispose of them or purchase more.

Prospective Buyers	City National Corp, Los Angeles, CA (CYN) PacWest Bancorp, Los Angeles, CA (PACW) Zions Bancorp, Salt Lake City, UT (ZION)
Financial Snapshot (as of 03/31/2014)	Total assets: $4B Tangible book value per share: $9.94 NPAs to assets: 0.81% Price to book: 89.3% Market cap: $291.8M Dividend yield: 4.4% Trailing 12-month return on assets: 0.0% Trailing 12-month return on equity: -0.03% TARP: $0M* *Redeemed $19.3M 12/15/2010
Scoundrels	Steven A Sugarman, Chairman, President and CEO Chad T Brownstein, Vice Chairman Ronald J Nicolas, Executive VP and CFO
Red Flags	These Scoundrels have crushed tangible book value at BANC like a stale cookie from $18.47 in 2009 to today's crummy $9.94 BANC officers are compensating themselves like kids on a sugar high at a rate running almost seven times the national average and performance of banks like Royal Financial, for the "service" of producing over $2M in losses BANC ringleader Steven Sugarman bears too many uncanny resemblances to Barry Minkow for my comfort, including behavior sharply inconsistent with the books they author
Sources	Banc of California website PL Capital's 13D Amendment Exhibit to PL Capital's 13D Exhibit to PL Capital's 13D Amendment Pearl Meyer & Partners Report Article by Ron Kaye L.A. SNL Financial Confidential interviews with shareholders