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.

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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%

A Stock Pick for (Almost) Every State

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.

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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	UBAB	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	NCNB	Northern California National — stock in Chico's hometown bank is undervalued, earns good money, and has high takeover appeal.	1%	125%	12x
CO	SLRK	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	CCFH	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	DBCP	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	MFGI	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	NWYF	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	FRSB	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	EMYB	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	FRAF	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	SBBI	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