For Immediate Release Chicago, IL – May 11, 2015 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog includethe Wells Fargo & Company (WFC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Citigroup Inc. (C), BB&T Corp. (BBT) and Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. ( SUSQ). Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog: Bank Stock Roundup: More Lawsuits, Restructuring With first-quarter 2015 earnings almost wrapping up, the focus has again shifted to restructuring and litigation issues for banking stocks. Over the last five trading days, banks made headlines with their efforts to restructure and expand operations. With no near-term expectation of a rate hike, banks are on lookout for other avenues to improve revenues.
Also, legal issues that have become a part and parcel of banking sector continued to crop up. Though banks are striving hard to overcome such hassles, we believe litigations would continue to hamper banks’ performance in the near term.
(Read the last Bank Stock Roundup for Apr 24, 2015 )
Recap of the Week’s Most Important Developments:
1. Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) faces a civil lawsuit, filed by Mike Feuer, attorney of the city of Los Angeles, for unethically treating its employees and customers. Per the filing, the financial bigwig has been accused of setting impractical sales targets for its employees, inducing them to adopt fraudulent means for meeting the set quotas.
Feuer began investigating the bank after reading a Dec 2013 Times report, in which several former and present employees of Wells Fargo related their experiences of the tremendous sales pressure at the bank (read more: Wells Fargo Faces LA Lawsuit for Unethical Conduct ).
2. In a quarterly document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), JPMorgan Chase & Co. ( JPM) provided updates on its previously disclosed investigations as well as new probes.
In relation to its ongoing criminal investigation by the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and a civil investigation by the Federal Reserve over foreign exchange sales and trading activities, JPMorgan revealed that it is undergoing settlement discussions with the regulators to resolve the probes (read more: JPMorgan Provides Updates on Ongoing Litigations ).
3. Citigroup Inc. (C) and JPMorgan are in the race to gain increased market share in equities, so as to capitalize on heightened volatility in the space. Both companies are making investments in technology as well as hiring personnel to reap benefits from the recent surge in client trading activities.
The banks aim to undertake a targeted approach to gain market share, focusing primarily on cross selling; with prime brokerage looked upon as the major opportunity. Also, Citigroup is taking measures to boost spending from top clients and hedge funds. At the same time, JPMorgan looks forward to increase its share backed by a diligent hedge fund sales team, new global equity products and client targeting. The current macroeconomic scenario reflects heightened equity market volatility, driven by divergent central bank policies across the globe and varying growth levels, along with certain geo-political concerns. Collectively, these factors make equity markets attractive over the long term.
4. BB&T Corp. (BBT) announced a deal to vend 2 branch locations of Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc. (SUSQ), before completing the acquisition of the latter. The 2 branches, located in Berkeley County, WV, will be sold to MVB Bank, Inc.
MVB Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of MVB Financial Corp., will assume roughly $69 million of deposits and $17 million of loans from branches located at 704 Foxcroft Avenue in Martinsburg and 5091 Gerrardstown Road in Inwood. The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions (read more: BB&T Gains Over 2% on News of Susquehanna Branch Sale ). Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free. About Zacks Equity Research Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term. Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons. Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report WELLS FARGO-NEW (WFC): Free Stock Analysis Report JPMORGAN CHASE (JPM): Free Stock Analysis Report CITIGROUP INC (C): Free Stock Analysis Report BB&T CORP (BBT): Free Stock Analysis Report SUSQUEHANNA BSH (SUSQ): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
|