3 Glistening Oil Stocks From the "Golden Triangle"

After more than 150 years of drilling for oil, there's still one region of this earth whose potential we have yet to fully explore: the depths of the ocean. These ultra-deepwater regions have for many years been beyond our technological capabilities, but today the technology exists, and we can drill deeper and further offshore. So far, three principal regions have emerged as the most promising for ultra-deepwater exploration: the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and West Africa. Let's take a look at these regions and unearth three oil stocks that are well positioned to take advantage of this new horizon.

There's oil in those trenches
The reason these three areas seemed to be linked recently is that, well, they used to be physically linked. These fields have a very similar geology because they're the remnants of when the Americas and Africa were a single continent hundreds of millions of years ago. All of these regions have the potential to hold several billion barrels of oil and could be a major source of new oil for the world. 

Source: Baker Hughes investor presentation.

Now that the technology exists to tap these deep and complex fields, production in these regions is starting to take off. Most recently, a consortium of companies including Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC  ) that operate in the Jubilee field off the Ghana coast just announced that production from that field is now at 110,000 barrels per day. Also, production from Brazil's Lula field just started last week, and production from that field is expected to increase to 120,000 barrels of oil per day.

This is just the beginning, though. Of all 227 semisubmersibles and drillships currently drilling around the world, 56% of them operate in these regions. And there are a multitude of companies vying for a piece of each. The problem with offshore is that several players can be involved in a single well, and companies can have holdings across all of these regions. As a primer for investing in the golden triangle of offshore oil, here are three oil stocks to keep a lookout for.

An oil monopoly to invest in
Several of the household names in oil are trying to get a piece of the pie in each of these regions, but they're hampered by two things: Either they need to outbid each other for prospective fields in the Gulf of Mexico, or they have to play by the rules of the national oil company in a respective country, which may not be in line with a company's plans. 

But there is one company that straddles the fence of NOC and investment opportunity and could be a major player in this surging oil trend: Petrobras (NYSE: PBR  ) . The state-run oil company of Brazil is required to have a 30% operator stake in every well drilled in offshore Brazil. This could be a huge benefit for a region that some estimate to have as many as 50 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Petrobras doesn't seem to be wasting any time taking advantage of its leader position for offshore exploration, either. The company plans to spend $237 billion in the next four years to make this happen. If the company can deliver on these lofty production goals both on time and within budget -- two major issues that have plagued the company in the past -- its position in Brazil offshore could mean promising times ahead for this stock.  

Prepping for the surge
For all of this activity in offshore exploration to happen, there will need to be a sizable increase in the amount of ultra-deepwater-capable rigs. Today, both semisubmersible rigs and drillships -- the two types of rigs capable of accessing these deep formations, have utilization rates well above 80% and 10% higher than every other type of offshore drilling equipment. In addition, with a major uptick in exploration in offshore Brazil expected after the Pre-Salt auction near the end of this year, ultra-deepwater assets will be in high demand. 

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Of companies out there that are traded on the U.S. exchanges, Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL  ) is setting itself apart from the others, as it plans to build 14 new ultra-deepwater capable rigs between now and 2016. Not only will this move expand its ultra-deepwater fleet by 44%, but it also puts more rigs under construction than three of its main competitors -- ENSCO, Diamond Offshore, and Transocean -- combined. With day rates for these rigs averaging $450,000, an addition of 14 rigs could potentially increase the company's current annual revenue by 50%. 

Getting it right
The biggest Achilles' heel of ultra-deepwater drilling is costs. Not only do the rigs to drill cost $450,000 a day, but nearly every aspect associated with oil and gas exploration also gets more expensive as water depth gets greater. So the margin of error for exploration and production development needs to be minimized as much as possible. A perfect example is Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A  ) , which has so far spent $5 billion on exploration in the Chukchi Sea of Alaska without producing a commercial barrel of oil so far.

That's where Core Laboratories (NYSE: CLB  ) comes into play. The company provides a wide array of services designed to increase recovery rates, optimize hydraulic fracturing techniques, and help target the most lucrative areas of a reservoir. The company is currently working with operators in the Gulf of Mexico to increase ultimate recovery rates from the single digits to 20% through new, enhanced oil recovery techniques that could prove incredibly valuable in all of the golden triangle regions. 

This past quarter was the third straight in which Core Laboratories posted record revenue, net income, and earnings per share. With integrated majors all teaming up to work with Core to implement its innovative technologies and analysis (yes, Petrobras is one of its clients), the chances that this oil stock will post more record-breaking quarters is very possible. 

What a Fool believes
These three oil fields have the potential to be major driving forces in global oil production for years to come, and these three companies are extremely well positioned to take advantage of this coming boom. To keep me honest, I have given an "outperform" rating on all three of the oil stocks in our CAPS community.

It's becoming more and more apparent that the oil stocks to invest in are more than just the ones with good land holdings. The best companies are the ones that are getting the most of those assets. For this reason, The Motley Fool is offering a comprehensive look at three energy companies set to soar during this transformation in the energy industry. Get up to date on the industry by discovering which three companies are spreading their wings: Check out the special free report "3 Stocks for the American Energy Bonanza." Simply click here to access your report -- it's absolutely free. 

Financial Masochism: Why Bank of America Can Have Its Way with You

What do you think would happen to a restaurant if it had horrible customer service and served mediocre food? Or a hair dresser who butchered your new 'do and then proceeded to re-run your credit card for an additional $10 tip?

I think we can all agree that they'd go out of business. At the very least, one wouldn't expect them to flourish.

Yet that's exactly what's happening with banks.

No surprise: People don't like banks
According to a recent Gallup poll, only 26% of people have either "quite a lot" or a "great deal" of confidence in their banks. In fact, Congress is one of the few institutions that scores lower in this regard, said financial bureau chief Matt Koppenheffer, author of our exclusive free report about the market's nine best dividend stocks.

And the nation's biggest banks are the worst offenders. In a J.D. Power & Associates survey of customer satisfaction from earlier this year, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) ranked at or near the bottom of the industry in every geographical regional examined. And they were the absolute worst performers in this year's survey of bank reputations by industry publication American Banker.

At the same time, both of these banks, as well as the nation's largest lender by assets, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM  ) , are racking up record quarterly profits. In the three months ended June 30, for instance, they earned a collective $12 billion.

What gives? If customers are so unhappy, why aren't they fleeing in droves?

The banks have you right where they want you
The answer it turns out has to do with switching costs -- that is, the amount of money and time it would cost a customer to switch from one bank to another.

Ever wonder why banks are such proponents of direct deposit and automatic bill pay? The reason is that it makes it harder for their customers to abandon them.

This point was driven home to me last week in a conversation with a New York-based banking consultant. According to him, the owners of between 40% and 50% of checking accounts at the nation's largest banks live paycheck to paycheck.

Imagine how delicate of a maneuver it would be for these people to switch banks without incurring an overdraft or insufficient-funds fee. If the direct deposit was transferred too early relative to the automatic bill pays, then the old account would be in jeopardy of a negative balance. If it was too late, then the new account would be.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, larger account holders have little to no incentive to change banks, as they're treated comparatively well. I discussed this last weekend with respect to Bank of America, which has prioritized deepening its relationship with its 8 million "preferred" customers while at the same time cutting the costs associated with servicing its 40 million "retail" customers.

Don't worry, be happy
The net result is that, at least insofar as account retention is concerned, there's really no such thing as reputational risk for the nation's biggest banks.

Needless to say, this is great news for bank investors, as the negative press about the big banks' various transgressions should ultimately make little to no difference with respect to their success and valuations. But also needless to say, it isn't quite as good for the customers that unwittingly find themselves on the other end of it.

Dividend stocks can make you rich. It's as simple as that. While they don't garner the notability of high-flying growth stocks, they're also less likely to crash and burn. And over the long term, the compounding effect of the quarterly payouts, as well as their growth, adds up faster than most investors imagine. With this in mind, our analysts sat down to identify the absolute best of the best when it comes to rock-solid dividend stocks, drawing up a list in this free report of the only nine that fit the bill. To discover the identities of these companies before the rest of the market catches on, you can download this valuable free report by simply clicking here now.

What to Watch With 3M's Stock

3M (NYSE: MMM  ) has gained 33% over the past year, when including dividends, and for the company to continue that strong performance investors will expect more growth than we've seen recently. Organic growth was just 2.9% in the first quarter, which isn't impressive, but the good news is that the company is investing more in R&D to fuel growth. Motley Fool contributor Travis Hoium covers what investors should be watching for regarding 3M's stock. 

Companies such as 3M have leveraged low costs in China to expand margins, but these days it's all about speed in R&D and manufacturing. 3M is one of thousands of companies using new technology to turn products into reality almost in real-time, changing everything we thought we knew about manufacturing. Read all about the biggest industry disrupters since the personal computer in "3 Stocks to Own for the New Industrial Revolution". Just click here to learn more.

European Stocks Climb as LVMH, Kering Report Faster Sales

European stocks rose, heading for their longest stretch of weekly gains this year, as companies from LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA to Kering SA reported faster quarterly sales growth. U.S. index futures fluctuated, while Asian shares declined.

LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, rallied 4.8 percent. Kering, the owner of Gucci, advanced 4.2 percent. Vivendi SA climbed 2.9 percent after selling its controlling stake in Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) to the company and a group led by its chief executive officer for $8.17 billion. Air France-KLM Group added 1.8 percent.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.3 percent to 300.48 at 9:41 a.m. in London, paring a gain of as much as 0.7 percent. The gauge headed for a weekly advance of 0.2 percent, its fifth consecutive gain. It has rallied 5.4 percent this month as the Federal Reserve said its stimulus program remained flexible. Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures lost less than 0.1 percent, while the MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.6 percent.

"Markets are up because we've seen some good earnings from European companies today, including LVMH and Kering," said Jacques Porta, who helps oversee $780 million as a fund manager at Ofi Gestion Privee in Paris. "We've also seen good news from Vivendi. Earnings have driven the markets this week."

In the U.S., a report at 9:55 a.m. New York time may show consumer confidence declined this month. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment dropped to 84 from 84.1 in June, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The initial reading for the measure was 83.9.

LVMH, Kering

LVMH advanced 4.8 percent to 136.65 euros after the world's largest maker of luxury goods said organic revenue increased 9 percent in the second quarter, faster than the 7 percent gain in the first quarter.

Kering rose 4.2 percent to 178.05 euros as the company formerly known as PPR said luxury sales climbed 9.4 percent, exceeding the previous quarter's 6.4 percent increase.

Vivendi climbed 2.9 percent to 16.45 euros. Activision will purchase 429 million of its shares from Europe's biggest media and telecommunications company for $5.83 billion. A group led by CEO Bobby Kotick will buy an additional 172 million shares for $2.34 billion, leaving Vivendi with a 12 percent stake in the video-game publisher.

Air France-KLM rose 1.8 percent to 6.48 euros after forecasting an improvement in the second half "in line with that of the first half." The airline swung to an operating profit last quarter.

Safran, Belgacom

Safran SA advanced 1.8 percent to 43.75 euros after predicting adjusted recurring operating income will increase by about 20 percent this year, compared with previous guidance for growth in the "mid-teens."

Belgacom SA rallied 7.6 percent to 18.09 euros after reporting second-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and some items of 430 million euros ($571 million). Analysts on average had estimated Ebitda of 414.2 million euros.

Top Penny Companies To Invest In Right Now

Shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST  ) rose nearly 5% Monday after the company's board of directors approved a $200 million share repurchase program. As management stated recently, the company had already used every penny of the $250 million it authorized for share repurchases less than five months ago, so it looks like they were just itching to continue increasing shareholders' slice of the pie.

Even so, I suppose this latest authorization shouldn't have come as much of a surprise considering the company managed to spend more than $737 million in 2012, buying back shares at an average price of $54.47 per share -- or about 3% below yesterday's closing price.

Does it make sense?
Okay, we get it; the folks at Monster are trying to send investors a not-so-subtle message that they think their stock is undervalued.

Top Penny Companies To Invest In Right Now: Key Tronic Corporation(KTCC)

Key Tronic Corporation, doing business as KeyTronicEMS Co., together with its subsidiaries, provides electronic manufacturing services (EMS) to original equipment manufacturers primarily in the United States, Mexico, and China. Its EMS services include product design, surface mount technologies for printed circuit board assembly, tool making, precision plastic molding, liquid injection molding, automated tape winding, prototype design, and full product builds. The company also manufactures keyboards and other input devices for personal computers. Key Tronic markets its products and services primarily through its direct sales department aided by field sales people and distributors. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Spokane Valley, Washington.

Top Penny Companies To Invest In Right Now: New Energy Systems Group.(NEWN)

New Energy Systems Group, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes lithium battery shells and related products primarily in China. It develops, customizes, and produces steel and aluminum battery shells and caps. The company principally serves large lithium battery manufacturers. It also engages in the research, manufacture, and sale of mobile backup power systems for mobile phones, laptops, solar, MP4, PMPs, PDAs, DC, and digital applications. The company was formerly known as China Digital Communication Group and changed its name to New Energy Systems Group in November 2009. New Energy Systems Group was incorporated in 2001 and is based in Shenzhen, China.

Top Energy Stocks For 2014: Dehaier Medical Systems Limited(DHRM)

Dehaier Medical Systems Limited, through its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets respiratory and oxygen homecare products, and other medical devices in the People?s Republic of China. The company also distributes products designed and manufactured by other companies. It offers various medical devices, including C-arm X-ray systems, anesthesia machines, patient monitors, and general hospital products; and respiratory and oxygen homecare products, such as oxygen concentrators, CPAP devices, portable sleep diagnostics, and Rhinitis hyperthermia devices; and air compressors and ventilator trolleys. The company sells its products primarily to distributors, as well as to hospitals, clinics, and government health bureaus directly. Dehaier Medical has a tripartite strategic cooperation agreement with Taiyo Nippon Sanso Shenwei (Shanghai) Medical Gas Co. Ltd. and Beijing Orient Medical Gas Co. Ltd. to develop and distribute oxygen therapy services for the home use market i n Beijing. The company was formerly known as De-Haier Medical Systems Limited and changed its name to Dehaier Medical Systems Limited in June 2005. Dehaier Medical Systems Limited was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Beijing, the People?s Republic of China.

Top Penny Companies To Invest In Right Now: MGP Ingredients Inc.(MGPI)

MGP Ingredients, Inc. produces ingredients and distillery products in the United States. It processes wheat flour and corn into various products through an integrated production process. The company operates in three business segments: Ingredient Solutions, Distillery Products, and Other. The Ingredient Solutions segment products consist of specialty proteins, specialty starches, vital wheat gluten, commodity wheat starch, and mill by-products. The Distillery Products segment offers food grade alcohol; fuel grade alcohol, commonly known as ethanol; and distiller?s feed and carbon dioxide, which are co-products of the company?s distillery operations. The Other segment products comprise resins, and plant-based polymers and composites. MGP Ingredients, Inc. sells its products directly or through distributors to the manufacturers and processors of finished goods. The company was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Atchison, Kansas.

Top Penny Companies To Invest In Right Now: Tenet Healthcare Corporation(THC)

Tenet Healthcare Corporation, an investor-owned health care services company, operates acute care hospitals and related health care facilities. The company?s general hospitals offer acute care services, operating and recovery rooms, radiology services, respiratory therapy services, clinical laboratories, and pharmacies. It also provides intensive care, critical care and/or coronary care units, physical therapy; and orthopedic, oncology, and outpatient services; tertiary care services, such as open-heart surgery, neonatal intensive care, and neuroscience; quaternary care in areas, including heart, liver, kidney, and bone marrow transplants for children; gamma-knife brain surgery; and cyberknife surgery for tumors and lesions in the brain, lung, neck, and spine. As of June 30, 2011, it operated 49 acute care hospitals, and a critical access hospital with a combined total of 13,420 licensed beds primarily serving urban and suburban communities in 11 states of the United State s. The company also owns an interest in a health maintenance organization and operate various related health care facilities, including a long-term acute care hospital and various medical office buildings; revenue cycle management and patient communications services businesses; physician practices; captive insurance companies; and other ancillary health care businesses, such as including ambulatory surgery centers, diagnostic imaging centers, and occupational and rural health care clinics. In addition, Tenet Healthcare Corporation owns an interest in a management services subsidiary that provides network development, utilization management, claims processing, and contract negotiation services to physician organizations and hospitals that assume managed care risk. Tenet Healthcare Corporation was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sam Collins]

  Health care services company Tenet Healthcare Corporation (NYSE: THC ) operates 50 general hospitals and a critical access hospital serving urban and rural communities in 12 states. It was recently listed by CNBC as No. 3 on its list of "20 Stocks With the Potential to Pop."

  THC is recommended by 20 analysts with a mean target of $6.96.

  Technically its stochastic issued a buy signal and three recent CBR buys were triggered. A break above $4.60 would yield a target of $6.

Why PulteGroup Shares Tanked

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM  ) were looking shabbier today, falling as much as 13% after its earnings report didn't stack up.

So what: The homebuilder missed on both bottom and top lines as the boom from the housing recovery wasn't strong enough to meet analysts' high expectations. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.26, below estimates at $0.30, while revenue increased 19% to $1.28 billion, but experts had called for $1.39 billion. Pulte's backlog value increased 25%, but new orders for the quarter actually fell 12% from a year ago. Still, CEO Richard Dugas saw nothing but positives in the market, saying the recovery "continues to gain momentum" and that the rise in interest rates seems to have had "little effect" on demand. Pulte also initiated a $0.05 quarterly dividend.

Now what: Today's drop seems to be more a consequence of high expectations rather than a failure on Pulte's part. Homebuilder stocks tend to be volatile as their earnings are difficult to predict. Nearly all signs are moving in the right direction for Pulte, and even though orders dropped, they are still coming in faster than the company can build homes, as evidenced by the uptick in the backlog. Today's drop may have been warranted after the misses but I see no reason to sell at this point.

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A Special Niche Boosts New York Community Bancorp Earnings

Though New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) saw a drop in its share price after releasing earnings yesterday, there is little doubt that investors are pleased with the bank's second-quarter results. The bank beat earnings per share estimates easily, aided by its largest ever jump in multi-family refinance-prepayment activity, which added 20 basis points to its net interest margin.

Mortgages down, but commercial loans are up
Like its peer Huntington Bancshares  (NASDAQ: HBAN  ) , New York Community saw a slowdown in residential mortgage refinancing activity due to higher interest rates. But, like Huntington and KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY  ) , the bank was able to improve in other areas. New York Community enjoyed higher mortgage servicing income in the second quarter, for example -- an area in which KeyCorp is also expanding, having recently acquired $110 billion in commercial loan servicing rights from Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) earlier this year.

Though Huntington missed on revenue projections, management noted a strong demand in commercial lending, as businesses see improvements in the economy. New York Community has recently launched its NYCB Specialty Finance Company, which is expected to increase the bank's commercial and industrial lending going forward.

Credit quality keeps improving, as well. New York Community saw its ratio of non-performing loans fall to its lowest point in four and a half years, to 0.54% from 0.69% in the year-ago quarter, while net charge-offs dropped to 0.01% from 0.05%. KeyCorp also made gains, seeing its loan-loss ratio decline from 1.79% one year ago to 1.65%, while net charge-offs fell to 0.38% last quarter, from its year-ago metric of 0.63%.

Multi-family refinancing
Though refinancing and new home mortgages are expected to slow further, New York Community has an ace in the hole: its stable of multi-family loans held for investment. In the second quarter, management noted that of the total loans held for investment -- $28.1 billion -- $2.9 billion represented multi-family mortgages.

For the bank, this represents a gold mine. Much of the refinancing being done -- and to be done in the future -- resides in this niche. The risk is quite low, because the bank has dealt with these parties in the past, refinancing debt as these clients purchase new properties. And, according to CFO Thomas Cangemi, this type of activity is prevalent in New York City -- giving the bank ample opportunity to rake in extra income on those prepaid loans as clients refinance. In the current mortgage-refinancing crunch, that's a notable win.

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Buy-and-Hold Investing Takes a Lifelong Commitment

I nodded my head in agreement at these comments on buy-and-hold investing from John Hussman (tracked down by Cullen Roche):

Just as day follows night, buy-and-hold strategies reach the peak of their popularity at market tops, because those are the points where every effort in recent memory to sell or reduce risk has apparently failed. Conversely, buy-and-hold strategies are most reviled at bear market troughs, when the full weight of losses is felt. I have no argument at all with investors whose strategy adheres to a disciplined buy-and-hold, diversified across asset classes, over the full market cycle. In contrast, I have great concern about investors who discover buy-and-hold at the top, and adhere to it only long enough to abandon it at the bottom. The most important part of a buy-and-hold discipline is the commitment to remain passive even as it experiences massive interim losses. Look, kid, I never said this was easy. The road to easy street runs through the sewer.

This is exactly right, in my view. The reason so many investors think buy-and-hold investing doesn't work is because they don't have the patience to let it work.

It's also important to point out that buy-and-hold doesn't mean you can buy with abandon at any price. Here's what I wrote a year ago:

The majority of today's investors, who likely began investing during the insane late '90s, have fared [poorly].

But that doesn't prove buy and hold is dead. It just proves that the deluded interpretation of it -- that you can buy stocks any time at any price and still do well -- is wrong. But it was always wrong. It just became easy to forget during the '90s bubble. For as long as people have been investing it's been true that if you pay too much for an asset, you won't do well in the long run. If you buy the S&P 500 at 30 or 40 times earnings, as people did in the late '90s, you're going to fail. If you do like Bill and wait until it's closer to its historic average of 15-20 times earnings (or even better, lower), you'll do all right. Nothing about the last decade has changed that. The '90s, not the 2000s, were the fluke.

A few charts show what I mean.

These three, which I copied last year from statistics blogger Nate Silver, show the correlation between S&P 500 returns and P/E ratios between 1871 and 2011 if held for one year:

It's pretty scattered. There's a lot of randomness. That frustrates investors.

But hold stocks for five years, and the plot gets more organized:

Holding for five year periods, you can have reasonable confidence that buying stocks at good prices will lead to good returns. Randomness doesn't go away, but it diminishes.

Now here's stock returns held for 10 years:

Much less randomness. Buy stocks at good prices, and you should be able to sleep well at night knowing that you'll do well over the subsequent 10 years. There will still be pullbacks and crashes and bear markets. But over time, you'll likely do just fine.

Most investors won't wait 10 years. They get anxious and impatient. That's where Hussman's quote comes in: "Look, kid, I never said this was easy. The road to easy street runs through the sewer."

Remember that the next time the market goes through a slump.

For more big-picture content, check out my report, "Everything You Need to Know About the National Debt." It walks you through step-by-step explanations about how the government spends your money, where it gets tax revenue from, the future of spending, and what a $16 trillion debt means for our future. Click here to read it. 

Apple's Buyback Bonanza

Why the Street Should Love Symmetry Medical's Earnings

Although business headlines still tout earnings numbers, many investors have moved past net earnings as a measure of a company's economic output. That's because earnings are very often less trustworthy than cash flow, since earnings are more open to manipulation based on dubious judgment calls.

Earnings' unreliability is one of the reasons Foolish investors often flip straight past the income statement to check the cash flow statement. In general, by taking a close look at the cash moving in and out of the business, you can better understand whether the last batch of earnings brought money into the company, or merely disguised a cash gusher with a pretty headline.

Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Symmetry Medical (NYSE: SMA  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. FCF = free cash flow. FY = fiscal year. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over the past 12 months, Symmetry Medical generated $44.7 million cash while it booked net income of $8.0 million. That means it turned 11.0% of its revenue into FCF. That sounds pretty impressive.

All cash is not equal
Unfortunately, the cash flow statement isn't immune from nonsense, either. That's why it pays to take a close look at the components of cash flow from operations, to make sure that the cash flows are of high quality. What does that mean? To me, it means they need to be real and replicable in the upcoming quarters, rather than being offset by continual cash outflows that don't appear on the income statement (such as major capital expenditures).

For instance, cash flow based on cash net income and adjustments for non-cash income-statement expenses (like depreciation) is generally favorable. An increase in cash flow based on stiffing your suppliers (by increasing accounts payable for the short term) or shortchanging Uncle Sam on taxes will come back to bite investors later. The same goes for decreasing accounts receivable; this is good to see, but it's ordinary in recessionary times, and you can only increase collections so much. Finally, adding stock-based compensation expense back to cash flows is questionable when a company hands out a lot of equity to employees and uses cash in later periods to buy back those shares.

So how does the cash flow at Symmetry Medical look? Take a peek at the chart below, which flags questionable cash flow sources with a red bar.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Data is current as of last fully reported fiscal quarter. Dollar values in millions. TTM = trailing 12 months.

When I say "questionable cash flow sources," I mean items such as changes in taxes payable, tax benefits from stock options, and asset sales, among others. That's not to say that companies booking these as sources of cash flow are weak, or are engaging in any sort of wrongdoing, or that everything that comes up questionable in my graph is automatically bad news. But whenever a company is getting more than, say, 10% of its cash from operations from these dubious sources, investors ought to make sure to refer to the filings and dig in.

With 11.8% of operating cash flow coming from questionable sources, Symmetry Medical investors should take a closer look at the underlying numbers. Within the questionable cash flow figure plotted in the TTM period above, stock-based compensation and related tax benefits provided the biggest boost, at 7.0% of cash flow from operations. Overall, the biggest drag on FCF came from capital expenditures, which consumed 18.0% of cash from operations.

A Foolish final thought
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies' cash flow. I think that's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. Better yet, you'll improve your odds of finding the underappreciated home-run stocks that provide the market's best returns.

If you're interested in companies like Symmetry Medical, you might want to check out the jaw-dropping technology that's about to put 100 million Chinese factory workers out on the street – and the 3 companies that control it. We'll tell you all about them in "The Future is Made in America." Click here for instant access to this free report.

We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock tracking service.

Add Symmetry Medical to My Watchlist.

What to Expect from AMCOL International

Tuesday's Top Upgrades (and Downgrades)

This series, brought to you by Yahoo! Finance, looks at which upgrades and downgrades make sense, and which ones investors should act on. Today, our headlines include a downgrade for natural-foods producer Annie's (NYSE: BNNY  ) , but upgrades for game maker Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS  ) and precious-metals harvester Silver Wheaton (NYSE: SLW  ) . Let's dive right in.

Annie's gets orphaned
First up, Annie's suffered a downgrade at the hands of JPMorgan this morning, and the stock is down more than 4% in response.

No great surprise here. Priced at nearly 65 times earnings, Annie's shares were pretty obviously overvalued, even with analysts projecting growth rates north of 20% for the shares over the next five years. Free cash flow at the company remains weak -- about $0.51 per $1 of reported earnings. And to top it all off, Annie's announced last week that insider shareholders are looking to unload 2.5 million shares of the company, flooding the market with about 15% of the total share count.

That's almost guaranteed to put selling pressure on a stock too highly priced to withstand it. Accordingly, Annie's shares are likely to fall, and JP's downgrade is justified.

Hasbro hits "play"
Less obvious is the situation with Hasbro. The company reported a 16% decline in net profits yesterday and a 6% slip in revenue -- yet Hasbro shares rose 3%, and are up again on the back of an upgrade from Needham & Co. today.

Needham is keying in on unexpected strength in the company's Games and Girls segments, and modest growth in Preschool. Meanwhile, Needham predicts that the company's main area of weakness, Boys, will rebound quickly as Hasbro brings in new revenues from its Star Wars partnership with Disney.

And Needham may be right. Sure, at 19 times earnings, Hasbro doesn't look like much of a value candidate right now. But remember that the stock pays a nice, fat 3.4% dividend yield on top of its 10% projected earnings growth rate. Plus, the Force is strong with this one -- free cash flow at the company amounted to $516 million over the past 12 months, or nearly 60% more than what Hasbro reported as its net income.

I calculate about a 12 times price-to-free cash flow ratio on the stock. And between the growth rate and the dividend, I think that's plenty cheap enough to justify a buy rating. Needham is right to upgrade.

Silver lining? Must mean there's a cloud
Last but not least, we come to Silver Wheaton, which is getting a nice boost to its stock price from an upgrade to "outperform" at Macquarie. Here, though, I'm going to finally call a strike on Wall Street's judgment.

Priced at just a little over 14 times earnings, paying a 2.3% dividend, and projected to grow earnings at an even 20% annually over the next five years, all systems seem "go" for an investment in Silver Wheaton. Problem is, this company's "profits" are not what they seem. Free cash flow doesn't come close to matching reported net income of $572 million. To the contrary, over the past 12 months, this company has burned $1.8 billion in cash.

Granted, most of this cash-burn took place in a single quarter -- last quarter. But even if you throw that one out as an outlier, and evaluate Silver Wheaton on its performance over the preceding five years, the company averaged barely $116 million in positive free cash flow annually over that period, or barely 20% of what it's reporting for the past year's net income.

Long story short, given every benefit of the doubt I can scrape together for it, I see Silver Wheaton selling for about 70 times its average annual cash haul, which is too high a price to pay even if the company does succeed in generating 20% growth. On the other hand, if Silver Wheaton should burn cash as it did last quarter, the stock looks even less attractive to me. I think Macquarie's making a bad call on this one. Silver Wheaton is no "outperformer."

Indeed, the opposite seems more accurate.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Hasbro and Walt Disney. 

How Caesars Entertainment Has Seemingly Suckered Investors

At its core, Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR  ) is an extremely flawed company. It has a huge presence in the struggling regional gaming market, it has no exposure to gaming's biggest market, Macau, and it has $21.3 billion of debt strangling it. So how has it gained 130% this year, easily outpacing more profitable rivals?  

CZR Total Return Price data by YCharts.

In my opinion, investors are buying into a great sales job by Caesars' management and private equity investors, and buying in now is a sucker's bet.

A raw deal for investors
The spinoff of "growth" assets that got investors excited yesterday has been in the works for months, and it's really nothing more than an asset sale. Caesars Entertainment will sell Planet Hollywood, The World Series of Poker brand, a future project in Baltimore, and whatever online gaming Caesars develops in the future to Caesars Acquisition, a newly traded stock.  

But investors who by shares of Caesars today don't automatically get shares of Caesars Acquisition -- they get the opportunity to buy shares at $9.43, the same price as private equity owners Apollo Global Management and TPG Global, who have committed at least $500 million to the deal. The two funds will own at least 42% of the new company but it's likely they will exercise their full right to buy new shares so they aren't diluted by the deal. This is where the deal becomes a sweetheart for private equity and a stinker for investors.

Assuming Apollo and TPG fully exercise their rights to buy shares in Caesars Acquisition, any shareholder who doesn't exercise their right to buy shares in the new company, which would require new cash, will effectively be giving the two private equity groups a larger percentage of the new company. So, it's likely they'll own a larger percentage of the "growth" company than they do of Caesars Entertainment.

But this is a great growth company...
What I think a lot of investors are unaware of is that new cash is required to buy the new "growth" company. So, if you buy shares of Caesars Entertainment today for $16, you would have to put in another $9.43 to buy shares of Caesars Acquisition when it goes public. All-in, your investment would be $25.43.

At that point you will own two stocks and two companies. But is that really what you want? If you want to own the company that will own the online gaming assets, why not buy after it's publicly traded? Sure, you may have to pay $10 or even $12 for each share, but you won't be stuck with shares of Caesars Entertainment at $16 per share.

The new growth company may very well be worth buying when it goes public, but not at the cost of owning shares of Caesars Entertainment and over $20 billion in debt. I don't even know if Caesars Entertainment can survive without some of its best growth assets and that much debt.

In my opinion, Caesars definitely isn't a buy right now. But if you're looking for a promising stock, Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for this year. Find out which stock it is in the special free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

5 Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014

LONDON --�I'm always searching for shares that can help ordinary investors like you make money from the stock market. However, many people are currently worried the market could be overheating.

So right now I'm analyzing some of the most popular companies in the FTSE 100, hoping to establish if they can continue to outperform in today's uncertain economy.

Today I'm looking at insurance company�RSA� (LSE: RSA  ) to determine whether the shares are still safe to buy at 115 pence.

So, how's business going?
RSA fell out of favor with the market earlier this year when the company announced that it was going to slash its final dividend by 33%, citing lower returns on its investment portfolio.

However, I believe this sell-off has been overdone, and it would appear some City analysts agree. In particular, some analysts believe the new lower payout will allow the company to retain more cash, in order to fund future growth and acquisitions.

5 Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: Crocs Inc.(CROX)

Crocs, Inc. and its subsidiaries engage in the design, development, manufacture, marketing, and distribution of footwear, apparel, and accessories for men, women, and children. The company primarily offers casual and athletic shoes, and shoe charms. It also designs and sells a range of footwear and accessories that utilize its proprietary closed cell-resin, called Croslite. The company?s footwear products include boots, sandals, sneakers, mules, and flats. In addition, it provides footwear products for the hospital, restaurant, hotel, and hospitality markets, as well as general foot care and diabetic-needs markets. Further, the company offers leather and ethylene vinyl acetate based footwear, sandals, and printed apparels principally for the beach, adventure, and action sports markets; and accessories comprising snap-on charms. The company sells its products through the United States and international retailers and distributors, as well as directly to end-user consumers th rough its company-operated retail stores, outlets, kiosks, and Web stores primarily under the Crocs Work, Crocs Rx, Jibbitz, Ocean Minded, and YOU by Crocs brand names. As of December 31, 2010, it operated 164 retail kiosks located in malls and other high foot traffic areas; 138 retail stores; 76 outlet stores; and 46 Web stores. Crocs, Inc. operates in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was formerly known as Western Brands, LLC and changed its name to Crocs, Inc. in January 2005. Crocs, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Niwot, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Paul]  

  They’re back! Two years ago everyone was convinced that Crocs (CROX: 23.33 0.00%) was just a fad, but their stock price exploded in 2010 gaining 206%. Revenues are expected to climb 20% this year and analysts are looking for 27% earnings growth in 2011. That type of growth could make Crocs a hot item again in 2011, especially if they can continue to top Wall Street’s estimates each quarter.

5 Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: CNO Financial Group Inc. (CNO)

CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the development, marketing, and administration of health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. The company markets and distributes Medicare supplement insurance, interest-sensitive and traditional life insurance, fixed annuities, and long-term care insurance products; Medicare advantage plans through a distribution arrangement with Humana Inc.; and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans through a distribution and reinsurance arrangement with Coventry Health Care. It also markets and distributes supplemental health, including specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity insurance products; and life insurance to middle-income consumers at home and the worksite through independent marketing organizations and insurance agencies. In addition, the company markets primarily graded benefit and simplified issue life insurance products directly to customers through television advertising, direct mail, Internet, and telemarketing. It sells its products through career agents, independent producers, direct marketing, and sales managers. CNO Financial Group, Inc. has strategic alliances with Coventry and Humana. The company was formerly known as Conseco, Inc. and changed its name to CNO Financial Group, Inc. in May 2010. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.

Top Stocks To Buy Right Now: Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.(BWLD)

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. engages in the ownership, operation, and franchise of restaurants in the United States. The company provides quick casual and casual dining services, as well as serves bottled beers, wines, and liquor. As of July 26, 2011, it had 773 Buffalo Wild Wings locations in 45 states in the United States, as well as in Canada. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Fabian]  

  While Chipotle has captured most of the attention among the restaurant stocks, Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD: 56.62 0.00%) could be 2011’s big winner. Wall Street is expecting 19% earnings growth from Buffalo Wild Wings in 2011 which is only slightly lower than Chipotle’s 20% growth rate. However, BWLD trades at only 18x consensus 2011 estimates while CMG trades at a pricey 40x. On an EBITDA basis, Chipotle trades at over 20x, while Buffalo Wild Wings trades at less than 9x.

5 Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: Sara Lee Corporation(SLE)

Sara Lee Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of a range of branded packaged meat, bakery, and beverage products worldwide. Its packaged meat products include hot dogs and corn dogs, breakfast sausages, sandwiches and bowls, smoked and dinner sausages, premium deli and luncheon meats, bacon, beef, turkey, and cooked ham. It also offers frozen baked products, which comprise frozen pies, cakes, cheesecakes, pastries, and other desserts. In addition, Sara Lee provides roast, ground, and liquid coffee; cappuccinos; lattes; and hot and iced teas, as well as refrigerated dough products. The company sells its products under Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee, State Fair, Douwe Egberts, Senseo, Maison du Caf Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Carlson]

  Director of Sara Lee Corp., James S Crown, bought 37,500 shares on 9/12/2011 at an average price of $17.5. Sara Lee Corporation is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, brand-name products for consumers throughout the world. Sara Lee Corp. has a market cap of $10.24 billion; its shares were traded at around $17.5 with a P/E ratio of 19.9 and P/S ratio of 1.2. The dividend yield of Sara Lee Corp. stocks is 2.7%.
  
  On August 11, Sara Lee Corp. reported earnings for the fourth quarter 2011. The fourth quarter included an 8% increase in adjusted net sales from continuing operations to $2.3 billion; 9% reported net sales increase, 40% increase in adjusted operating income to $189 million; and reported operating income increase of 19%.
  
  Last week, Director James S Crown bought 37,500 shares of SLE stock. Executive Chairman Jan Bennink bought 58,400 shares in August.

5 Best Growth Stocks To Buy For 2014: TrueBlue Inc.(TBI)

TrueBlue, Inc. provides temporary blue-collar staffing services in the United States. It supplies on demand general labor to various industries under the Labor Ready brand; skilled labor to manufacturing and logistics industries under the Spartan Staffing brand; and trades people for commercial, industrial, and residential construction, and building and plant maintenance industries under the CLP Resources brand. The company also provides mechanics and technicians to the aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul, aerospace manufacturing, and assembly industries, as well as to other transportation industries under the Plane Techs brand; and temporary drivers to the transportation and distribution industries under the Centerline brand. It primarily serves small and medium-size businesses. The company was formerly known as Labor Ready, Inc. and changed its name to TrueBlue, Inc. in December 2007. TrueBlue, Inc. was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Tacoma, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By McWillams]

  TrueBlue, Inc. is a provider of temporary blue-collar staffing. Its EPS forecast for the current year is 0.69 and next year is 1.1. According to consensus estimates, its topline is expected to grow 8.96% current year and 10.03% next year. It is trading at a forward P/E of 15.76. Out of 10 analysts covering the company, six are positive and have buy recommendations and four have hold ratings.

Top Biotech Stocks For 2014

In an effort to commercialize its colorectal cancer therapy�Vectibix in China, biotech Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN  ) will form a joint venture with�Zhejiang Beta Pharma to capitalize on its�strong expertise in the development and commercialization of molecularly targeted therapies as well as its oncology sales network in�China, the company announced this week.

The new joint venture will be named Amgen-Beta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. with Zhejiang Beta Pharma owning 51% and Amgen owning the remaining 49% interest.

"This joint venture brings us one step closer to providing Chinese patients with Amgen's medicines and supports our strategy of expanding in key, fast-growing markets," said Amgen Executive VP�Anthony C. Hooper.

Zhejiang Beta Pharma Chairman Lieming Ding was quoted as saying "Amgen is a pioneer and a global leader in the biotech industry. Our partnership with Amgen will be of long-term strategic significance not only for�Zhejiang Province, but also for the whole medical community in�China."

Top Biotech Stocks For 2014: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company(CTB)

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets replacement tires in North America and internationally. It operates in two segments, North American Tire Operations and International Tire Operations. The North American Tire Operations segment produces and distributes passenger car and light truck tires, as well as tires for racing, medium trucks, and motorcycles to independent tire dealers, wholesale distributors, regional and national retail tire chains, and other large automotive product retail chains. This segment sells its products through three own retail stores. The International Tire Operations segment manufactures and markets passenger car, light truck, motorcycle, light vehicle tires, radial and bias medium truck tires, and racing tires and tire retread material to markets worldwide. The company was founded in 1913 and is based in Findlay, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Zacks]

  Cooper Tire & Rubber Company (CTB) reversed a year-ago loss with first-quarter earnings of 33 cents. The result also bettered the consensus by as much as 312%. Total sales moved forward 16% to $689 million, versus $597 million in the first quarter of 2006. Cooper Tire & Rubber said it continued to benefit from the cost reduction and profit improvement initiatives announced last September. Furthermore, it was helped by improved price and mix in North America, and increased tire unit sales in Europe and Asia.

  Shares of the company gained 12% last week, making it one of the top-performing Zacks #1 Rank companies. It also reached a 52-week high on the day of its report. Looking forward, Cooper Tire & Rubber expects to build on the momentum of the first quarter, as conditions and opportunities suggest a strong 2007. Over the past seven days, earnings estimates for this year have moved forward approximately 25% to 98 cents.

Top Biotech Stocks For 2014: Memtec Ltd t/over(MET.AX)

Mt Isa Metals Limited engages in the discovery, exploration, and development of mineral deposits. It primarily explores for gold, copper, iron-oxide, zinc, uranium, silver, and lead deposits. The company holds interests in a portfolio of tenement positions covering approximately 4,000 square kilometers located in the Mount Isa region of north-west Queensland, Australia, as well as in Burkina Faso, west Africa. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Brisbane, Australia.

Best Stocks To Watch Right Now: Aehr Test Systems(AEHR)

Aehr Test Systems designs, engineers, and manufactures test and burn-in equipment for use in the semiconductor industry. The company primarily offers the advanced burn-in and test systems for performing tests during burn-in on logic and memory packaged ICs; the FOX full wafer contact parallel test and burn-in systems for making contact with pads of a wafer simultaneously to enable full wafer parallel test and burn-in; the MAX burn-in systems for burn-in and functionally testing of devices, such as digital signal processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and systems-on-a-chip; WaferPak cartridges for use in testing wafers in FOX systems; the DiePak carriers, a reusable, temporary package that enables IC manufacturers to perform final test and burn-in of bare die; and test fixtures, which hold the devices undergoing test or burn-in and electrically connect the devices under test to the system electronics. It also offers customer service and support programs, including s ystem installation, system repair, applications engineering support, spare parts inventories, customer training, and documentation. The company markets and sells its products through a network of distributors and sales representatives to semiconductor manufacturers, semiconductor contract assemblers, electronics manufacturers, and burn-in and test service companies. It has operations in the United States, Asia, and Europe. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.

Are You Ready to Dive In and Buy Bank Stocks?

With the four largest U.S. banks holding a combined total of well over $1 trillion in assets, the banking sector can be a very intimidating one to invest in. How should investors decide which bank is going to outperform the others when there are so many pieces to the business and so many metrics to look at?

In this video, Fool financial analysts David Hanson and Matt Koppenheffer give investors two systems for the very first place to look when analyzing a bank stock, to know if it's really worth your money. 

Bank of America's stock doubled in 2012. Is there more yet to come? With significant challenges still ahead, it's critical to have a solid understanding of this megabank before adding it to your portfolio. In The Motley Fool's premium research report on B of A, analysts Anand Chokkavelu, CFA, and Matt Koppenheffer, Financials bureau chief, lift the veil on the bank's operations, including detailing three reasons to buy and three reasons to sell. Click here now to claim your copy.

 

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now

A pending lawsuit against Bank of America (NYSE: BAC  ) and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC  ) shows they aren't off the hook just yet for the robo-signing scandal. Over the weekend, the New York state attorney general said he will announce new enforcement actions against the banks as part of his effort to "protect New York homeowners." The suits purportedly allege that the banks violated a $25 billion nationwide settlement that they entered into last year with lawmakers in 49 states and the federal government.�In the following video, Motley Fool contributing writer John Maxfield discusses what this means for investors in the two megabanks.

Wells Fargo's dedication to solid, conservative banking helped it vastly outperform its peers during the financial meltdown. Today, Wells is the same great bank as ever, but with its stock trading at a premium to the rest of the industry, is there still room to buy, or is it time to cash in your gains? To help figure out whether Wells Fargo is a buy today, download our premium research report from one of The Motley Fool's top banking analysts. Click here now for instant access to this in-depth take on Wells Fargo.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS)

The Bank of Nova Scotia (the Bank) is a diversified financial institution. As of October 31, 2011, the Bank offered a range of products and services, including retail, commercial, corporate and investment banking to more than 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world. The Bank has four business lines: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Scotia Capital and Global Wealth Management. In January 2012, the Company closed its acquisition of 51% of Banco Colpatria. In April 2012, the Company through Scotia Capital Inc. acquired Howard Weil Incorporated. In April 2013, Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a 50% interest in Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Horizonte SA.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: EverBank Financial Corp (EVER)

EverBank Financial Corp, incorporated in 2004, is an unitary savings and loan holding company. The Company provides a range of financial products and services directly to customers through multiple business channels. Its operating subsidiary is EverBank. As of December 31, 2011, EverBank had $ 10.3 billion deposits. EverBank offers a range of banking, lending and investing products to consumers and businesses. EverBank provides services to customers through Websites, over the phone, through the mail and at 14 Florida-based Financial Centers. The Company operates in two operating business segments: Banking and Wealth Management, and Mortgage Banking. Its Banking and Wealth Management segment includes earnings generated by and activities related to deposit and investment products and services and portfolio lending and leasing activities. Its Mortgage Banking segment consists of activities related to the origination and servicing of residential mortgage loans. In April 2012, the Company acquired MetLife Bank�� warehouse finance business. In October 2012, it acquired Business Property Lending, Inc.

Asset Origination and Fee Income Businesses

The Company has a range of asset origination and fee income businesses. The Company generates generate fee income from its mortgage banking activities, which consist of originating and servicing one-to-four family residential mortgage loans. It originates prime residential mortgage loans using a centrally controlled underwriting, processing and fulfillment infrastructure through financial intermediaries (including community banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and brokers), consumer direct channels and financial centers. Its mortgage origination activities include originating, underwriting, closing, warehousing and selling to investors prime conforming and jumbo residential mortgage loans. From its mortgage origination activities, it earns fee-based income on fees charged to borrowers and other noninterest income from gains on sales from ! mortgage loans and servicing rights. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it originated six billion dollars of residential loans. It generates mortgage servicing business through the retention of servicing from its origination activities, acquisition of bulk mortgage servicing rights (MSR) and related servicing activities.

The Company�� mortgage servicing business includes collecting loan payments, remitting principal and interest payments to investors, managing escrow funds for the payment of mortgage-related expenses, such as taxes and insurance, responding to customer inquiries, counseling delinquent mortgagors, supervising foreclosures and liquidations of foreclosure properties and otherwise administering its mortgage loan servicing portfolio. It earns mortgage servicing fees and other ancillary fee-based income in connection with these activities. It services a portfolio by both product and investor, including agency and private pools of mortgages secured by properties throughout the United States. As of December 31, 2011, its mortgage servicing business, which services mortgage loans for itself and others, managed loan servicing administrative functions for loans with unpaid principal balance (UPB) of $54.8 billion.

The Company originates originate equipment leases nationwide through relationships with approximately 280 equipment vendors with networks of creditworthy borrowers and provide asset-backed loan facilities to other leasing companies. Its equipment leases and loans finance essential-use health care, office product, technology and other equipment. Its commercial financings range from approximately $25,000 to $1.0 million per transaction, with typical lease terms ranging from 36 to 60 months. Its commercial finance activities provide it with access to approximately 25,000 small business customers nationwide, which creates opportunities to cross-sell its deposit, lending and wealth management products. It focuses to offer warehouse loans, which are short-ter! m revolvi! ng facilities, primarily securitized by agency and government collateral. It provides financial advisory, planning, brokerage, trust and other wealth management services to its mass-affluent and high-net-worth customers through its registered broker dealer and recently-formed registered investment advisor subsidiaries.

Interest-Earning Asset Portfolio

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� interest-earning assets were $11.7 billion. As of December 31, 2011, its loan and lease held for investment portfolio was $6.5 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the carrying values of its interest-earning assets are: residential, government-insured (residential), securities, commercial and commercial real estate, Bank of Florida (covered), lease financing receivables, and other.

Residential includes primarily prime loans originated and retained from its mortgage banking activities, acquired from third parties or held for sale to other investors. government-insured (residential) includes Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) pool buyouts with government insurance, sourced from its mortgage banking segment and third-party sources. Securities include non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) purchased at significant discounts. This portfolio includes protection against credit losses from purchase discounts, subordination in the securities structures and borrower equity. Commercial and commercial real estate includes a range of commercial loans, including owner-occupied commercial real estate, commercial investment property and small business commercial loans. As of December 31, 2011, Bank of Florida (Covered) includes commercial, multi-family and commercial real estate loans with $71.3 million of purchase discounts. Lease financing receivables include covered lease financing receivables. As of December 31, 2011, the lease portfolio had $64.7 million of total discounts. Other includes home equity loans and lines ! of credit! , consumer and credit card loans and other investments.

Deposit Generation

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had approximately $10.3 billion in deposits. Its market-based deposit products, consisting of its WorldCurrency, MarketSafe and EverBank Metals Select products, provide investment capabilities for customers seeking portfolio diversification with respect to foreign currencies, commodities and other indices. Its financial portal includes online bill-pay, account aggregation, direct deposit, single sign-on for all customer accounts and other features. Its Website and mobile device applications provide information on its product offerings, financial tools and calculators, newsletters, financial reporting services and other applications for customers to interact with it and manages all of their EverBank accounts on a single integrated platform. Its new mobile applications allow customers using iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry devices to view account balances, conduct real time balance transfers between EverBank accounts, administer billpay, review account activity detail and remotely deposit checks.

The Company generates deposit customer relationships through its consumer direct, financial center and financial intermediary distribution channels. Its consumer direct channel includes Internet, e-mail, telephone and mobile device access to product and customer support offerings. Its direct distribution with a network of 14 financial centers in Florida metropolitan areas, include Jacksonville, Naples, Ft. Myers, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa Bay and Clearwater. As of December 31, 2011, its financial centers had average deposits of $130.5 million, which is approximately double the industry average. In addition, it generates noninterest-bearing escrow deposits from its mortgage servicing business.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Ed Carson]

  EverBank operates 17 branches in Florida with the usual line of services, along with some exotic products such as foreign currency deposits that are federally insured.

  Revenue growth has improved for six quarters, from -19% to 31%.

  Since its May IPO, EverBank has broken a few times. Since its early November peak, the stock has consolidated near its 50-day moving average for several weeks.

5 Best Stocks For 2014: U.S. Bancorp(USB)

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various banking and financial services in the United States. It generates various deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market savings, and time certificates of deposit accounts. The company originates a portfolio of loans comprising commercial loans and lease financing; commercial real estate; residential mortgage; and retail loans consisting of credit cards, retail leasing, home equity and second mortgages, and other retail loans. It also offers wholesale lending, equipment finance, small-ticket leasing, depository, treasury management, capital markets, foreign exchange, and international trade services to middle market, large corporate, commercial real estate, and public sector clients. In addition, U.S. Bancorp provides telebanking and automated teller machine (ATM) services, as well as cash management services. The company, through other subsidiaries, provides trust, private banking, financial advisory, investment management, retail brokerage services, insurance, and custody and fund services; and payment services, including consumer and business credit cards, stored-value cards, debit cards, corporate and purchasing card services, consumer lines of credit, and merchant processing. U.S. Bancorp primarily serves individuals, estates, foundations, business corporations, and charitable organizations. It operates a network of approximately 3,031 banking offices and 5,310 ATMs. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By James K. Glassman]

   The venerable investment firm Brown Brothers Harriman, which has catered to wealthy families since 1818, has launched some excellent mutual funds in recent years. The managers of BBH Core Select look for stocks that sell for a "meaningful discount" from their judgment of a firm’s intrinsic, or true, value, thus providing what financial scholar Benjamin Graham called a "margin of safety." A prime holding for the past eight years has been Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp (symbol: USB), one of the best-run banks in the world. Its stock has risen 35% in the past year, but the P/E is still reasonable at 10, and the 2.5% dividend yield gives you more income than a ten-year Treasury bond.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) provides its customers with lending and depository services, cash management, foreign exchange and trust and investment management services. Since this time last March, USB is up 19%. USB stock gets an “A” grade for operating margin growth, a “B” grade for earnings growth, a “B” grade for its ability to exceed the consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street, a “B” grade for the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the past months, an “A” grade for cash flow, and a “B” grade for return on equity. 

• [By Philip van Doorn]

  U.S. Bancorp (USB_). O'Connor upgraded USB to a "Buy" rating from a "Hold," raising his price target to $38 from $29, saying he expected "growth of 28% from 2012-2015, nearly double the industry average of 15%. Two key drivers of this growth are likely to be continued market share gains in mortgage and a pickup in consumer and commercial spending (payments represents 15-20% of USB's revenue)." The analyst also said that U.S. Bancorp could also see a major boost from GSE reform, since the company's mortgage loan "origination share has doubled since the crisis, but stands at just 5% vs. 30% at WFC, 10% at JPM and 4% at BAC)." Deutsche Bank estimates that the company will earn $3.06 a share in 2013, with EPS rising to $3.31 in 2014 and $3.65 in 2015. U.S. Bancorp was included amongTheStreet's 5 Bank Stocks That Can't Stop Posting Profits, as the company has managed to keep its return on average tangible common equity above 10% for the past 27 quarters, even though the worst period of the credit crisis.

• [By Philip van Doorn]

  U.S. Bancorp (USB_) of Minneapolis, for example, recorded a 2012 operating return on average assets (ROA) of 1.62%, according to Thomson Reuters Bank Insight, making it one of the best performers among large-cap banks. This performance was not an aberration, as the company was in the top five for return on average equity among actively traded U.S. bank stocks from the beginning of 2006 through the third quarter of 2012.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: HDFC Bank Ltd (HDB)

HDFC Bank Limited (HDFC Bank), incorporated in August 1994, is a banking company engaged in providing a range of banking and financial services, including commercial banking and treasury operations. The Bank has overseas branch operations in Bahrain and Hong Kong. The Bank operates in four segments: treasury, which primarily consists of net interest earnings from the Bank�� investment portfolio, money market borrowing and lending, gains or losses on investment operations and on account of trading in foreign exchange and derivative contracts; retail banking, which serves retail customers through a branch network and other delivery channels; wholesale banking, which provides loans, non-fund facilities and transaction services to corporate, public sector units, government bodies, financial institutions and medium scale enterprises, and other banking business, segment includes income from para banking activities, such as credit cards, debit cards, third party product distribution, primary dealership business and the associated costs. Revenues of the retail banking segment are derived from interest earned on retail loans, net of commission (net of subvention received) paid to sales agents and interest earned from other segments for surplus funds placed with those segments, fees from services rendered, foreign exchange earnings on retail products.

Retail Banking

The Bank is a financial services provider of various deposit products, of retail loans (auto loans, personal loans, commercial vehicle loans, mortgages, business banking, loan against gold jewellery), credit cards, debit cards, depository (custody services), investment advisory, bill payments and several transactional services. Apart from its own products, the Bank distributes third party financial products, such as mutual funds and life and general insurance. As of March 31, 2012, the Bank had 2,544 branches in 1,399 Indian cities. The Bank had 8,913 automated teller machines (ATMs) during the fiscal year ended March 31,! 2012. In addition to the Bank does home loans in conjunction with HDFC Limited. Under this arrangement the Bank sells loans provided by HDFC Limited through its branches. HDFC Limited approves and disburses the loans, which are booked in their books, with the Bank receiving a sourcing fee for these loans. HDFC Limited offers the Bank an option to purchase up to 70% of the fully disbursed home loans sourced under this arrangement through either the issue of mortgage backed pass through certificates (PTCs) or by a direct assignment of loans; the balance is retained by HDFC Limited. It also distributes life, general insurance and mutual fund products through its tie-ups with insurance companies and mutual fund houses.

Wholesale Banking

The Bank provides its corporate and institutional clients a range of commercial and transactional banking products. The Bank�� commercial banking business covers the corporate sector, the emerging corporate segments and some small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Bank has a number of business groups catering to various segments of its wholesale banking customers with a range of banking services covering their working capital, term finance, trade services, cash management, foreign exchange and electronic banking requirements. The Bank�� financial institutions and government business group (FIG) offers commercial and transaction banking products to financial institutions, mutual funds, public sector undertakings, central and state government departments. The main focus for this segment is offering various deposit and transaction banking products to this segment besides offering funded, non-funded treasury and foreign exchange products.

The Bank provides its customers both working capital and term financing. The Bank�� corporate banking business includes cash management and vendor and distributor (supply chain) finance products. The Bank has a wholesale banking branch in Bahrain, a branch in Hong Kong and two representative offic! es in the! United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kenya. The branches offer the Bank�� suite of banking services including treasury and trade finance products to its corporate clients. The Bank offers wealth management products, remittance facilities and markets deposits to the non-resident Indian community from its representative offices.

Treasury

The treasury group is responsible for compliance with reserve requirements and management of liquidity and interest rate risk on the Bank�� balance sheet. On the foreign exchange and derivatives front, revenues are driven primarily by spreads on customer transactions based on trade flows and customers��demonstrated hedging needs. The Bank offers Indian rupee and foreign exchange derivative products to its customers. The Bank enters into foreign exchange and derivative deals with counterparties after it has set up appropriate counterparty credit limits based on its evaluation of the ability of the counterparty to meet its obligations in the event of crystallization of the exposure. The Bank also deals in Indian rupee derivatives on its own account, including for the purpose of its own balance sheet risk management.

Other banking business

The Bank has two subsidiaries: HDFC Securities Limited (HSL) and HDB Financial Services Limited (HDBFS). HSL is primarily in the business of providing brokerage services through the Internet and other channels. As of March 31, 2012, HSL had a network of 184 branches across the country. HDBFS is a non-deposit taking non-bank finance company (NBFC). Apart from lending to individuals, it grants loans to small and medium business enterprises and micro small and medium enterprises, the principle businesses of HDBFS include loans, which offers a range of loans in the secured and unsecured loans space that fulfill the financial needs of its target segment; insurance services, HDBFS is a corporate agent for HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company and sells insurance products ,as well as products, ! such as L! oan Cover and Asset Cover, and collections-BPO services, which runs six call centres. These centres cover collection requirements at over 200 towns through its calling and field teams. As on March 31, 2012, HDBFS had 180 branches in 135 cities in order to distribute its products and services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Halah Touryalai]

  The largest privately owned retail bank in India with a network of 1,986 branches in 996 cities across the country. The bank has a strong deposit franchise and technology backbone.  EPS has grown at a rate of 26% per year, over the past 10 years.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Northern Trust Corporation(NTRS)

Northern Trust Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides asset servicing, fund administration, asset management, and fiduciary and banking solutions for corporations, institutions, families, and individuals worldwide. The company offers corporate and institutional services, including global master trust and custody, trade settlement, and reporting; fund administration; cash management; investment risk and performance analytical services; investment operations outsourcing; and transition management and commission recapture services. It also provides personal financial services, such as personal trust, investment management, custody, and philanthropic services; financial consulting; guardianship and estate administration; brokerage services; and private and business banking services, as well as customized products and services. In addition, the company offers active and passive equity and fixed income portfolio management, as well as alternative asset classes comprisin g private equity and hedge funds of funds, and multi-manager products and advisory services. Further, it engages in fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, and custody business that provides specialized services to a range of funds, which include money-market, multi-manager, exchange-traded funds, and property funds for on-shore and off-shore markets. Additionally, the company provides administrative and middle-office services consisting of trade processing, valuation, real-time reporting, accounting, collateral management, and investor servicing. Northern Trust Corporation was founded in 1889 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: KeyCorp (KEY)

KeyCorp is a bank holding company for KeyBank National Association (KeyBank). Through KeyBank and certain other subsidiaries, the Company provides a range of retail and commercial banking, commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance and investment banking products and services to individual, corporate and institutional clients through two business segments: Key Community Bank and Key Corporate Bank. As of December 31, 2011, these services were provided through KeyBank�� 1,058 full-service retail banking branches in 14 states, additional offices, a telephone banking call center services group and a network of 1,579 automated teller machines (ATMs) in 15 states. On January 17, 2012, the Company opened another national bank subsidiary.

In addition to the banking services of accepting deposits and making loans, the Bank and trust company subsidiaries offer personal and corporate trust services, personal financial services, access to mutual funds, cash management services, investment banking and capital markets products, and international banking services. Through its bank, trust company and investment adviser subsidiaries, the Company provides investment management services to clients that include corporate and public retirement plans, foundations and endowments, individuals and trust funds. The Company provides other financial services - both within and outside of its primary banking markets - through various nonbank subsidiaries. These services include community development financing, securities underwriting and brokerage. It is also an equity participant in a joint venture that provides merchant services to businesses.

Lending Activities

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� Commercial, Financial and Agricultural loans, also referred to as Commercial and Industrial, represented 39% of its total loan portfolio. As of December 31, 2011, commercial real estate loans represented approximately 19% of its total loan portfolio. These loans include bo! th owner and nonowner-occupied properties and constitute approximately 27% of its commercial loan portfolio. Its commercial real estate lending business is conducted through two primary sources: its 14-state banking franchise, and Real Estate Capital and Corporate Banking Services. The Company conducts financing arrangements through its equipment finance line of business. Commercial lease financing receivables represented 17% of commercial loans at December 31, 2011. The home equity portfolio is the largest segment of its consumer loan portfolio.

Investment Activities

The Company�� securities portfolio totaled $18 billion at December 31, 2011. Available-for-sale securities were $16 billion at December 31, 2011. Held-to-maturity securities were $2.1 billion at December 31, 2011. At December 31, 2011, it had $2.1 billion in collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) in its held-to-maturity securities portfolio. At December 31, 2011, the Company had $15.9 billion invested in CMOs and other mortgage-backed securities in the available-for-sale portfolio. Federal Agency CMOs constitute most of its held-to-maturity securities along with foreign bonds and preferred equity securities. The investments in equity and mezzanine instruments made by its principal investing unit represented 61% of other investments at December 31, 2011. They include direct investments (investments made in a particular company), as well as indirect investments (investments made through funds that include other investors).

Sources of Funds

Domestic deposits are the Company�� primary source of funding. During the year ended December 31, 2011, these deposits averaged $58.5 billion and represented 80% of the funds it used to support loans and other earning assets. Wholesale funds, consisting of deposits in its foreign office and short-term borrowings, averaged $3.4 billion during 2011. At December 31, 2011, the Company had $4.7 billion in time deposits of $100,000 or more.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alexandra Leigh]

  On Thursday, KeyCorp shareholders were disappointed as the Cleveland-based bank posted an unanticipated jump in expenses during the fourth quarter during the previous three months. Along with other banks trimming costs to outweigh the pressure on revenue from falling interest rates, KeyCorp has been doing the same, but it has also said that it will continue to invest in future growth, so it might take until the second half for expenses to start decreasing. Expenses increased by 5.4 percent year-over-year, and 3 percent from the third quarter to $756 million, while revenue rose by 9.8 percent to $1.1 billion for the same period but fell 4.4 percent from the third quarter.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (BBVA) is a diversified international financial group, with strengths in the traditional banking businesses of retail banking, asset management, private banking and wholesale banking. The Company also has investments in some of Spain�� companies. During the year ended December 31, 2009, BBVA focused its operations on six major business areas: Spain and Portugal, Wholesale Banking and Asset Management, Mexico, The United States, South America and Corporate Activities. On August 21, 2009, through its subsidiary BBVA Compass, BBVA acquired certain assets of Guaranty from the United States Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC).

Spain and Portugal

The Spain and Portugal business area focuses on providing banking services and consumer finance to private individuals, enterprises and institutions in Spain and Portugal. The main business units included in the Spain and Portugal area Spanish Retail Network, which manages individual customers, high net-worth individuals (private banking) and small companies and retailers in the Spanish market; Corporate and Business Banking, which manages business with small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large companies, institutions and developers in the Spanish market, and Other units, which includes consumer finance, that manages renting and leasing business, credit to individual and to enterprises for consumer products and Internet banking; European Insurance that manages the insurance business in Spain and Portugal, and BBVA Portugal, that manages the banking business in Portugal. The Spanish Retail Network unit services the financial and non-financial needs of households, professional practices, retailers and small businesses. The Corporate and Business Banking unit offers a range of services and products to SMEs, large companies, institutions and developers with specialized branch networks for each segment.

The Company�� European Insurance unit�� activities are conducted through! various insurance companies that provide direct insurance, reinsurance and insurance brokering services in Spain and Portugal and market products for different types of customers (private individuals, SMEs, retailers, professional service firms and providers and self-employed individuals) through this unit�� branch offices. BBVA Portugal manages its banking business in Portugal.

Wholesale Banking and Asset Management

The Wholesale Banking and Asset Management area focuses on providing services to large international companies and investment banking, capital markets and treasury management services to clients. The business units included in the Wholesale Banking and Asset Management area are Corporate and Investment Banking, which coordinates origination, distribution and management of a complete catalogue of corporate and investment banking products (corporate finance, structured finance, syndicated loans and debt capital markets) and provides global trade finance and global transaction services with coverage of large corporate customers specialized by sector (industry bankers); Global Markets, which handles the origination, structuring, distribution and risk management of market products, which are placed through its trading rooms in Europe, Asia and the Americas; Asset Management, which designs and manages the products that are marketed through its different branch networks including traditional asset management, alternative asset management and Valanza (its private equity unit); Industrial and Other Holdings, which helps to diversify the area�� businesses with the aim of creating medium and long-term value through active management of a portfolio of industrial holdings and other Spanish and international projects, and Asia.

During the year ended December 31, 2009, it launched two products: BBVA Bonos Cash (BBVA Cash Bonds), a money market fund for retail customers, and BBVA Bonos Largo Plazo Gobiernos II (BBVA Long-Term Government Bonds), a public-debt fu! nd. In ad! dition it launched through this unit additional fixed-income long-term funds, including BBVA Bonos Corporativos 2011 and BBVA Bonos 2014, which were sold to HNWI customers.

Mexico

The business units included in the Mexico area are Retail and Corporate banking and Pensions and Insurance. BBVA Bancomer launched six new mortgage products for lending to home buyers in 2009. These products included: loans for home improvements, remodeling or additions to homes and financial discount which provides liquidity to construction companies. In Mexico, it operates its pensions business through Afore Bancomer, its insurance business through Seguros Bancomer, its annuities business through Pensiones Bancomer and its health insurance business through Preventis.

The United States

The business units included in the United States area are BBVA Compass and Other units: BBVA Puerto Rico and Bancomer Transfers Services (BTS). During 2009 this unit marketed and sold several new products, The ClearPoints credit card, Business Build-to-order Checking, Compass for your Cause and Money Market Sweep.

South America

The South America business area includes its banking, insurance and pension businesses in South America. The business units included in the South America business area are Retail and Corporate Banking, which includes banks in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela; Pension businesses, which includes pensions businesses in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and Dominican Republic, and Insurance businesses, which includes insurance businesses in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Corporate Activities

The Corporate Activities area handles its general management functions. These mainly consist of structural positions for interest rates associated with the euro balance sheet and exchange rates, together with liquidity management and shareholde! rs��fun! ds.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: BB&T Corp (BBT)

BB&T Corporation (BB&T) is a financial holding company. BB&T conducts its business operations primarily through its commercial bank subsidiary, Branch Banking and Trust Company (Branch Bank), which has offices in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Washington D.C and Indiana. In addition, BB&T�� operations consist of a federally chartered thrift institution, BB&T Financial, FSB (BB&T FSB), and a number of nonbank subsidiaries, which offer financial services products. BB&T�� operations are divided into six business segments: Community Banking, Residential Mortgage Banking, Dealer Financial Services, Specialized Lending, Insurance Services, and Financial Services. Branch Bank provides a range of banking and trust services for retail and commercial clients in its geographic markets, including small and mid-size businesses, public agencies, local Governments and individuals, through 1,779 offices as of December 31, 2011. During the year ended December 31, 2011, BB&T announced the acquisitions of Liberty Benefit Insurance Services, Atlantic Risk Management Corporation and the Precept Group. In April 2012, it acquired the life and property and casualty insurance operating divisions of Roseland, New Jersey - based Crump Group Inc. On July 31, 2012, it acquired BankAtlantic.

As of December 31, 2011, the principal operating subsidiaries of BB&T included Branch Banking and Trust Company, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; BB&T Financial, FSB, Columbus, Georgia; Scott & Stringfellow, LLC, Richmond, Virginia; Clearview Correspondent Services, LLC, Richmond, Virginia; Regional Acceptance Corporation, Greenville, North Carolina; American Coastal Insurance Company, Davie, Florida, and Sterling Capital Management, LLC, Charlotte, North Carolina. Branch Bank�� principal operating subsidiaries include BB&T Equipment Finance Corporation, BB&T Investment Services, Inc., BB&T Insurance Services, Inc., Stanley, Hunt, DuPree! & Rhine (a division of Branch Bank), Prime Rate Premium Finance Corporation, Inc., Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, LLC, Lendmark Financial Services, Inc., CRC Insurance Services, Inc. and McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc.

Community Banking

BB&T�� Community Banking serves individual and business clients by offering a range of loan and deposit products and other financial services. As of December 31, 2011, Community Banking had a network of 1,779 banking.

Residential Mortgage Banking

Residential Mortgage Banking segment retains and services mortgage loans originated by Community Banking, as well as those purchased from various correspondent originators. Mortgage loan products include fixed and adjustable rate Government and conventional loans for the purpose of constructing, purchasing or refinancing residential properties. Substantially all of the properties are owner occupied. BB&T retains the servicing rights to all loans sold. Residential Mortgage Banking earns interest on loans held in the warehouse and portfolio, fee income from the origination and servicing of mortgage loans and recognizes gains or losses from the sale of mortgage loans. BB&T�� mortgage originations totaled $23.7 billion in 2011. BB&T�� residential mortgage servicing portfolio, which includes both retained loans and loans serviced for third parties, totaled $91.6 billion in 2011.

Dealer Financial Services

Dealer Financial Services originates loans to consumers on a prime and nonprime basis for the purchase of automobiles. Such loans are originated on an indirect basis through approved franchised and independent automobile dealers throughout the BB&T market area and nationally through Regional Acceptance Corporation. This segment also originates loans for the purchase of boats and recreational vehicles originated through dealers in BB&T�� market area. In addition, financing and servicing to dealers for their inventories is provided through a ! joint rel! ationship between Dealer Financial Services and Community Banking.

Specialized Lending

BB&T�� Specialized Lending consists of eight business units that provide specialty finance products to consumers and businesses. The internal business units include Commercial Finance that contains commercial finance and mortgage warehouse lending; and, Governmental Finance that is responsible for tax-exempt Government finance. Operating subsidiaries include BB&T Equipment Finance which provides equipment leasing within BB&T�� banking footprint; Sheffield Financial, a division of FSB Financial, a dealer-based financer of equipment for both small businesses and consumers; Lendmark Financial Services, a direct consumer finance lending company; Prime Rate Premium Finance Corporation, which includes AFCO and CAFO, insurance premium finance business units that provide funding to businesses in the United States and Canada and to consumers in certain markets within BB&T�� banking footprint, and Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, a commercial mortgage banking lender providing loans on a national basis.

Insurance Services

BB&T Insurance Services provides property and casualty, life and health insurance to businesses and individuals. It also provides small business and corporate products, such as workers compensation and professional liability, as well as surety coverage and title insurance. In addition, Insurance Services also underwrites a limited amount of property and casualty coverage.

Financial Services

Financial Services provides personal trust administration, estate planning, investment counseling, wealth management, asset management, employee benefits services, corporate banking and corporate trust services to individuals, corporations, institutions, foundations and Government entities. Financial Services also offers clients investment alternatives, including discount brokerage services, equities, fixed-rate and variable-rate annuiti! es, mutua! l funds and governmental and municipal bonds through BB&T Investment Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Branch Bank. Financial Services includes Scott & Stringfellow, LLC, a brokerage and investment banking firm. Scott & Stringfellow provides services in retail brokerage, equity and debt underwriting, investment advice, corporate finance and equity research and facilitates the origination, trading and distribution of fixed-income securities and equity products in both the public and private capital markets. Scott & Stringfellow also has a public finance department that provides investment banking services, financial advisory services and municipal bond financing. Scott & Stringfellow�� investment banking and corporate and public finance areas conduct business as BB&T Capital Markets. This segment includes BB&T Capital Partners that is a group of BB&T-sponsored private equity and mezzanine investment funds that invest in privately owned middle-market operating companies. Financial Services also includes the Corporate Banking Division that originates and services corporate relationships, syndicated lending relationships and client derivatives.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Michael Brush]

   BB&T (BBT) has a dividend yield of 2.5%

  The regional bank has 1,800 branches in the Southeast and Washington, D.C. Even during the worst of the credit meltdown, BB&T was profitable. The company used its financial clout to attract customers from competitors and purchase the assets of a failed bank in Florida from regulators.

  As the economy improves and loan business grows, Wordell believes the bank could see annual earnings as high as $3.50 a share, from $1.21 recently. Wordell expects the bank to raise dividends as earnings and loan quality improves.

• [By Elissa]

  BB&T Corporation is a full-range financial company that provides commercial and retail services. Unlike other banks, BB&T is organized by community banks, and each group has a regional president. This enables simple changes that affect clients in a local area.

• [By Louis Navellier]

  BB&T (NYSE:BBT) owns the commercial banking subsidiary, Branch Banking and Trust Company, and has posted a gain of 16% since last March. BB&T stock gets an “A” grade for operating margin growth, an “A” grade for earnings growth, a “B” grade for earnings momentum, an “A” grade for the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the past months, and a “B” grade for cash flow.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Capital One Financial Corporation(COF)

Capital One Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for the Capital One Bank (USA), National Association (COBNA), and Capital One, National Association (CONA), which provide various financial products and services in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It offers consumer and small business credit card lending, national closed end installment lending, and the international credit card lending services. The company also provides various non-interest bearing and interest-bearing deposits, including demand deposits, money market deposits, negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and other consumer time deposits. Its loan portfolio comprises credit card loans; consumer loans, such as auto, home, and retail banking loans; and commercial loans, including commercial and multifamily real estate, middle market, specialty lending, and small-ticket commercial real estate loans. In addition, the company provid es mortgage banking, treasury management, and depository services. It primarily serves consumers, small businesses, and commercial clients through branches, the Internet, and other distribution channels. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Kathy Kristof]

  There's also opportunity in a big bank that follows a different path than others on this list. Capital One Financial (COF) is one of the nation's biggest credit card issuers and may be best known for its tongue-in-cheek commercials featuring Alec Baldwin and former basketball star Charles Barkley. The bank's earnings were up nearly 12% last year, but earnings per share declined because the number of shares outstanding rose after the completion of two mergers in 2012. The mergers turned Capital One into one of the nation's largest banks by deposits, but its market capitalization of $31.8 billion is only one-fourth that of Citi and BofA.

  Capital One focuses more on consumers and less on businesses than the other banking behemoths. It generates about three-fourths of its income from credit cards and consumer loans. The improving financial health of the consumer sector is driving down Capital One's default rates and is helping to put the company in a position to meet increasingly stringent regulatory capital requirements well ahead of schedule.

  In fact, the bank is so well capitalized that regulators recently gave it permission to hike its quarterly dividend sixfold, to 30 cents per share. At $55.07, the stock yields 2.2% on the new dividend rate and sells for 8.6 times projected 2013 earnings. That's below Capital One's estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 9.3% a year, suggesting that the stock is undervalued. RBC analysts believe the shares will reach $67 over the coming year.

• [By Matthew Scott]

  While I disapprove of its cheesy advertisements for Capital One (NYSE: COF) and its generally high percentage rate credit cards, Capital One is one financial services company that has a real opportunity for growth coming out of the recession. Capital One stock price increased six times in two years, jumping from $8.63 on March 9, 2009 to $51.96 at the end of the first quarter. Since the bank wasn’t in the “too big to fail” category before the recession, it has been able to expand its number of branches over the last two years when times were tough, growing profits at the same time. As consumers begin using credit cards again as the economy improves, Capital One stands to benefit.

10 Best Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Bank Of Montreal (BMO)

Bank of Montreal, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail banking, wealth management, and investment banking products and solutions in North America and internationally. It offers personal banking products and services to consumers and small businesses, including deposit and investment services, mortgages, consumer credit, small business lending, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services to small business, medium-sized enterprise, and mid-market banking clients comprising lending, deposits, treasury management, and risk management services. The company also offers cards and payments services; investment and wealth advisory services; self-directed investing services; private banking services to high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients; investment fund solutions across a range of channels; pension plans; investment management services; and creditor insurance, and life insurance and annuity products and services. In add ition, it provides capital markets products and services, including equity and debt underwriting, corporate lending and project financing, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and recapitalizations, balance sheet management, liquidity management, merchant banking, securitization, foreign exchange, derivatives, debt and equity research, and institutional sales and trading to corporate, institutional, and government clients. As of October 31, 2010, Bank of Montreal operated and maintained approximately 1,230 bank branches in Canada and the United States. The company was founded in 1817 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Andrew]

  This is another solid Canadian bank paying a whopping 4.70% dividend.  My arguments for buying this bank are pretty much the same as above for TD.