Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they've bought and sold, via "13F" filings. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.
Today let's look at Diamond Hill Capital Management, founded in 2000 and based in Ohio. Its management has explained, "Our research is predominantly a bottom-up process beginning with fundamental analysis of a company's profitability and�market position, financial and competitive position, management quality, valuation, and growth components of valuation." Like other value-oriented investors respected by The Motley Fool, Diamond Hill seeks undervalued investments and margins of safety.
The company's reportable stock portfolio totaled $9.5 billion in value as of March 31.
Interesting developments
So what does Diamond Hill's latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details.
The biggest new holdings are Philip Morris International and Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE: RGA ) . Other new holdings of interest include Radian Group (NYSE: RDN ) . To say that mortgage insurer Radian had a good past year would be an understatement, as the stock more than tripled. That's partly due to expectations of a boom in business as the housing market picks up, with tighter lending rules probably leading to greater need for the coverage. The stock recently got an upgrade, with an analyst expecting a possibly bumpy 2013 because of a high level of delinquent loans, but much smoother sailing in following years.
10 Best High Tech Stocks To Own Right Now: Qatar Investment Fund PLC (QIF)
Qatar Investment Fund plc, formerly Epicure Qatar Equity Opportunities plc, is a closed-end investment company established to invest primarily in quoted equities of Qatar and other Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries. Its investment objective is to capture, principally through the medium of the Qatar Exchange by investing in listed companies or companies to be listed. It also invests in listed companies, pre-initial public offer (IPO) companies, in other GCC countries. As of June 30, 2010, the Company had a portfolio of 22 investments in quoted companies in the Gulf, with 17 of them being in Qatar, four investments in United Arab Emirates and one in Kuwait. As at June 30, 2010, the top five holdings of the Company are Qatar National bank, Industries Qatar, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Qatar Islamic Bank and Rayan Bank. The Company�� wholly owned subsidiary is Epicure Qatar Opportunities Holdings Limited. The investment manager of the Company is Epicure Managers Qatar Limited. Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vivian Lewis]
The fund also operates to cut tax liabilities. EXG executes timely trades to capture additional qualified dividend income (QIF) subject to capital gains taxes which are usually lower than income taxes.
10 Best Financial Stocks For 2014: SouFun Holdings Ltd (SFUN)
SouFun Holdings Limited (SouFun), incorporated on June 17, 2004, operates as a real estate Internet portal in China. The Company also operates home furnishing and improvement Websites. Through SouFun's Websites, it provides marketing, e-commerce, listing, and other value-added services for China's real estate and home-related sectors. SouFun's Internet portal focuses and supports SouFun's users in seeking information on the real estate and home-related sectors in China. SouFun maintains about 100 offices to focus on local market needs and its Website and database contains real estate related content covering more than 320 cities in China. Its www.soufun.com Website contains links to other specialized real estate and home furnishing and improvement Websites, including its www.jiatx.com Website, its e-commerce transaction and payment platform. The Company's service offerings include marketing services, E-commerce services, listing services and other value-added services.
Marketing Services
The Company offers marketing services on its Websites, mainly through advertisements, to real estate developers in the marketing phase of new property developments, as well as to real estate agencies and suppliers of home furnishing and improvement and other home-related products and services who wish to promote their products and services. Its marketing services are delivered through its Website www.soufun.com and include traditional Internet advertisements, such as banners, links, logos and floating signs, as well as featured promotions, such as Internet advertisements, combined with its other services.
E-commerce services
The Company offers e-commerce services, including SouFun membership services and online transaction platform services. It provides both free and paid SouFun membership services to registered members its SouFun cards. Its free services include primarily regular updates regarding local property developments, tours to visit property developments an! d other services relating to property purchases. The Company�� paid services primarily include offers to purchase properties with discounts from its partner developers and information and related services to facilitate property purchases. In addition, through its www.jiatx.com Website, it offers an online transaction platform and related e-commerce services to home furnishing and improvement vendors in China.
Listing services
The Company offers basic and special listing services. Its basic listing services are mainly offered to real estate agents, brokers, developers, property owners and managers and suppliers of home furnishing and improvement and other home-related products and services. Its basic listing services allow its customers to post information of their products and services on its Websites. The Company�� special listing services offer customized marketing programs involving both online listings and offline themed events.
Other value-added services
The Company offers subscription-based access to its information database and research reports and total Web solution services. The Company provides online content subscription services on either a flat-fee subscription basis for database access or a per-project basis for its research services. It charge subscription fees based on the number of databases that the subscriber would like to access.
The Company competes with E-House (China) Holdings, Sohu.com Inc.�� focus.cn, Anjuke.com, Tencent�� fangqq.com, Szhome.com and House365.com.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jim Jubak]
Among stocks that are available to US investors through a listing in New York, the list includes Ctrip.com International (CTRP), China's biggest online travel retailer; Qihoo 360 (QIHU), a leading mobile security company; 58.com (WUBA), the Craigslist-like operator of a classified site, and SouFun Holdings (SFUN), the owner of China's biggest real-estate site.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
One under-$10 Internet information player that's starting to move within range of triggering a big breakout trade is SouFun (SFUN), which operates a real estate Internet portal as well as a home furnishing and an improvement Web site in the People's Republic of China. This stock has been hammered lower by the sellers so far in 2014, with shares down huge by 42%.
If you take a glance at the chart for SouFun, you'll see that this stock has been downtrending badly for the last four months, with shares falling from its high of $19.94 to its recent low of $8.52 a share. During that downtrend, shares of SFUN have been making mostly lower highs and lower lows, which is bearish technical price action. That said, shares of SFUN have started to reverse its downtrend and enter a new uptrend, with the stock moving higher from that $8.52 low to it recent high of $9.58 a share. Shares of SFUN are now spiking higher today right above some near-term support at $9 a share, and it's quickly moving within range of triggering a big breakout trade.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in SFUN if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $9.58 to $10 a share with high volume. Look for a sustained move or close above those levels with volume that hits near or above its three-month average action of 7.73 million shares. If that breakout kicks off soon, then SFUN will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $11 to its 50-day moving average of $11.36 a share. Any high-volume move above those levels will then give SFUN a chance to tag $12 to $13 a share.
Traders can look to buy SFUN off weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below some near-term support levels at $9 to $8.82 a share, or even that recent low of $8.52 a share. One can also buy SFUN off strength once it starts
10 Best Financial Stocks For 2014: iShares US Home Construction ETF (ITB)
iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index Fund (the Fund) is a non-diversified index fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Dow Jones U.S. Select Home Construction Index (the Index).
The Fund invests in a representative sample of securities included in the Index that collectively has an investment profile similar to the Index. The Index measures the performance of the home construction sector of the United States equity market, and includes companies that are constructors of residential homes, including manufacturers of mobile and prefabricated homes.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Susquehanna’s head of derivative strategy Trevor Mottl, however, recommends betting against the sector with options on the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) following Friday’s big drop in new home sales. He writes:
10 Best Financial Stocks For 2014: Redwood Trust Inc.(RWT)
Redwood Trust, Inc., a real estate investment trust, together with its subsidiaries, engages in investing, financing, and managing real estate assets. The company?s investments include residential and commercial real estate loans; and securities backed by residential and commercial loans, including senior and subordinate securities. The senior securities are those interests in a securitization that have the first right to cash flows and are last to absorb losses; and subordinate securities are those interests in a securitization that have the last right to cash flows and are first in line to absorb losses. As of March 31, 2011, it had 77 real estate owned properties primarily in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, and Georgia. It would elect to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, the company would not be subject to federal income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of net taxable income to its stockholders. Red wood Trust, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is based in Mill Valley, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Real estate investment trust��Redwood Trust� (NYSE: RWT ) announced today its third-quarter dividend of $0.28 per share, the same rate it's paid for the past two quarters after raising the payout 12% from $0.25 per share.
- [By Amanda Alix]
On the mortgage front, Two Harbors notes that it has acquired a passel of prime jumbo home loans, which it likely plans to securitize. The company's CEO, Tom Siering, also addresses this issue on the earnings call, where he states that the trust was involved in a $400 million securitization of prime jumbo loans. This puts Two Harbors in the company of mREIT Redwood Trust (NYSE: RWT ) , which has nearly single-handedly brought back the jumbo-loan securitization market over the past two years. If Redwood's success is any indication -- it recently reported first-quarter net income�of $61 million, compared to the year-ago figure of $30 million -- Two Harbors is on the right track.
10 Best Financial Stocks For 2014: Customers Bancorp Inc (CUBI)
Customers Bancorp, Inc. (Customers Bancorp), incorporated in April 2010, through its wholly owned subsidiary Customers Bank (the Bank), provides financial products and services to small businesses, not-for-profits and consumers through its fourteen branches in Southeastern Pennsylvania (Bucks, Berks, Chester and Delaware Counties), Rye, New York (Westchester County) and Hamilton, New Jersey (Mercer County). Customers Bank also provides liquidity to the mortgage market worldwide through the operation of its mortgage warehouse business. As of December 31, 2011, Customers Bancorp had total assets of $2.08 billion, including net loans (including held for sale loans) of $1.50 billion, total deposits of $1.58 billion. The Company offers a range of banking products and financial services to its commercial and consumer customers in Suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Central New Jersey and Southeastern New York. It offers a range of lending products to cater to its customers��needs, including small business loans, mortgage warehouse loans, multi-family and commercial real estate loans, residential mortgage loans and consumer loans. It also offers traditional depository products, including commercial and consumer checking accounts, non-interest-bearing demand accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts and time deposit accounts and cash management services. On September 17, 2011, Customers Bank became a wholly owned subsidiary of Customers Bancorp. On September 17, 2011, Customers Bancorp acquired Berkshire Bancorp, Inc. and its subsidiary Berkshire Bank. In May 2013, Customers Bancorp Inc merged with CMS Bancorp Inc.
Lending Activities
The Company focuses its lending efforts to the lending areas, such as commercial lending, which includes business, small business and multi-family and commercial real estate lending; specialty Lending, which include warehouse lending, and consumer lending, which include local market mortgage lending and home equity lending. It also pr! ovide warehouse financing worldwide and multi-family lending in the Mid-Atlantic States.
The Bank�� commercial lending is segmented into three groups, which include multi-family and commercial real estate, business banking and small business banking. The small business banking platform originates loans, including small business administration loans, through the branch network sales force and a team of dedicated small business relationship managers. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it originated and closed $121.5 million of multi-family loans commitments. As of December 31, 2011, it had $536.9 million in commercial loans outstanding, comprising approximately 35.3% of its total loan portfolio (which includes loans held for sale). During 2011, it originated and closed $167.7 million of commercial loans and commitments. As of December 31, 2011, loans in its warehouse lending portfolio, as well as loans held for sale totaled $794.3 million outstanding, comprising approximately 52.3% of its total loan portfolio (which includes loans held for sale). During the year ended December 31, 2011, it funded $7.7 billion of mortgage loans under warehouse facilities.
The Company offers a range of deposit products to its customers, including checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts and other deposit accounts, including fixed-rate, fixed-maturity retail time deposits ranging in terms from 30 days to five years, individual retirement accounts, and non-retail time deposits consisting of jumbo certificates greater than or equal to $100,000. As of December 31, 2011, its deposit portfolio was consisted of 54.9% of core deposits. Its financial products include Internet banking, wire transfers, electronic bill payment, lock box services, remote deposit capture services, courier services, merchant processing services, cash vault, controlled disbursements, positive pay and cash management services (including account reconciliation, collections and sweep accounts).
! Sources o! f Fund
The Company offers a range of deposit accounts, including checking, savings, money market and time deposits. Deposits are obtained primarily from its service area. As of December 31, 2011, the total deposits grew to $1.58 billion.
Investment Activities
The Company�� investment securities portfolio consists of United States Treasury, government agency and mortgage-backed securities (guaranteed by an agency of the United States government and non-agency guaranteed), municipal securities, domestic corporate debt, and asset-backed securities. In addition to generating revenue, it maintains the investment portfolio to manage interest rate risk, provide liquidity, provide collateral for other borrowings and diversify the credit risk of earning assets. As of December 31, 2011, $79.1 million of its investment securities were classified as available for sale (AFS). As of December 31, 2011, the fair value of its investment securities portfolio was approximately $409.9 million. As of December 31, 2011, it held $319.5 million of investment securities that were classified as held to maturity (HTM).
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
Wyomissing, Pa.-based Customers Bancorp (NASDAQ: CUBI ) has a new CFO.
On Tuesday, Customers Bancorp announced that Interim Chief Financial Officer James D. Hogan�intends to retire from the bank on Aug. 13. Replacing Hogan will be Robert E. Wahlman, a new hire from Doral Financial, who will join Customers initially in the post of executive vice president on Aug. 5, and then be promoted to permanent CFO on the 13th.
10 Best Financial Stocks For 2014: Piper Jaffray Companies(PJC)
Piper Jaffray Companies provides investment banking, institutional brokerage, asset management, and related financial services to corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States, Asia, and Europe. The company raises capital through equity financings; provides advisory services, primarily relating to mergers and acquisitions for its corporate clients; underwrites debt issuances; and offers financial advisory and interest rate risk management services. Its public finance investment banking capabilities focus on state and local governments, as well as healthcare, higher education, housing, hospitality, transportation, and commercial real estate industries, as well as operates in business and financial services, clean technology and renewables, consumer, and industrial growth, as well as media, telecommunications, and technology industries. The company also offers equity and fixed income advisory and t rade execution services for institutional investors, and government and non-profit entities; and is involved in proprietary trading, as well as has equity sales and trading relationships with institutional investors. In addition, it provides asset management services to separately managed accounts, private funds or partnerships, and open-end and closed-end registered investment companies or funds; and offers an array of investment products comprising small and mid-cap value equity, and master limited partnerships focused on the energy industry, as well as fixed income. Further, the company engages in merchant banking activities, which comprises proprietary debt or equity investments in late stage private companies, and investments in private equity and venture capital funds, as well as other firm investments and forfeiture of stock-based compensation. Piper Jaffray Companies was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Top losers in the sector included Alto Palermo SA (NASDAQ: APSA), off 5.5 percent, and Piper Jaffray Companies (NYSE: PJC), down 3.5 percent.
Top Headline
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) reported a 19% drop in its first-quarter profit. J.P. Morgan's quarterly profit declined to $5.3 billion, or $1.28 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $6.53 billion, or $1.59 per share. Its revenue slipped 8% to $22.99 billion versus $25.12 billion. J.P. Morgan's investment banking net income dropped 15%. However, analysts were estimating earnings of $1.39 per share on revenue of $24.43 billion. - [By Sean Williams]
What: Shares of investment banking and asset management firm Piper Jaffray (NYSE: PJC ) sank as much as 11% after reporting disappointing second-quarter earnings results.
- [By Rich Smith]
Investment banker Piper Jaffray (NYSE: PJC ) expanded its municipal debt business Wednesday, when it purchased Seattle-Northwest Securities in a transaction valued at approximately $21 million.
10 Best Financial Stocks For 2014: Independent Bank Group Inc (IBTX)
Independent Bank Group, Inc., incorporated on September 20, 2002, is bank holding company. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Independent Bank (Bank), a state chartered bank, the Company provides a range of commercial banking products and services for businesses, professionals and individuals. Commercial lending products includes owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, interim construction loans, commercial loans (such as Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loans, business term loans, equipment financing and lines of credit) to a diversified mix of small and midsized businesses, and loans to professionals, particularly medical practices. Retail lending products include residential first and second mortgage loans, and consumer installment loans such as loans to purchase cars, boats and other recreational vehicles. On April 1, 2012, it acquired I Bank Holding Company and its bank subsidiary, and on October 1, 2012, it acquired The Community Group and its bank subsidiary. As of March 18, 2013, it operated 30 banking offices in 26 communities in two market regions located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area and in the greater Austin area. Independent Bank operates 30 banking offices throughout North and Central Texas. In December 2013, the Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of Collin Bank, Plano, Texas. In January 2014, Independent Bank Group, Inc. acquired Live Oak Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, Live Oak State Bank.
Lending Activities
Its loans are primarily real estate secured loans spread among a variety of types of borrowers, including owner occupied offices for small businesses, medical practices and offices, retail operations, and multi-family properties. Its loans are diversified geographically throughout its Dallas/North Texas region (approximately 55%) and its Austin/Central Texas region (approximately 45%). As of December 31, 2012, it had total loans of approximately $1.4 billion
The Company is primarily a real es! tate secured lender. It originates real estate loans to finance commercial property that is owner-occupied, as well as commercial property owned by real estate investors. The total amount of owner-occupied commercial real estate loans outstanding as of December 31, 2012, was $353.5 million, or 25.6% of its loan portfolio. The total amount of commercial real estate loans outstanding as of December 31, 2012, excluding owner-occupied properties, was $295 million, or 21.4% of its loan portfolio. The real estate securing its existing commercial real estate loans includes a variety of property types, such as owner-occupied offices/warehouses/production facilities, office buildings, healthcare facilities, hotels, mixed-use residential/commercial, retail centers, multifamily properties, restaurants, churches and assisted living facilities.
The Company�� construction portfolio includes loans to small and midsized businesses to construct owner-user properties, and, to a much lesser extent, loans to developers of commercial real estate investment properties and residential developments. These loans are typically disbursed as construction progresses and carry interest rates that vary with the prime rate. As of December 31, 2012, the outstanding balance of its construction loans was $97.3 million, or 7.1% of its total loan portfolio. It offers first and second mortgage loans to its individual customers primarily for the purchase of primary and secondary residences. As of December 31, 2012, the outstanding balance of one-to four-family real estate secured loans, including home equity loans, represented $315.3 million, or 22.9%, of its total loan portfolio. Residential real estate loans held for sale of $9.2 million at December 31, 2012, were also included in this category.
The Company makes single-family interim construction loans to home builders and individuals to fund the construction of single family residences. Such loans are secured by the real property being built and are made based! on its a! ssessment of the value of the property on an as-completed basis. As of December 31, 2012, the outstanding balance of its single-family interim construction loans was $67.9 million, or 4.9% of its total loan portfolio. The Company originates commercial loans to small businesses and professionals, in particular, medical practices, located in its market areas. These loans are primarily term loans to purchase capital equipment and small loans for working capital and operational purposes. As of December 31, 2012, it had outstanding commercial loans, of $169.9 million, or 12.3% of its total loan portfolio.
The Company�� agricultural loan portfolio primarily includes loans secured by real property used for agricultural purposes. It provides loans for the acquisition of farm and ranch land, as well as the construction of buildings upon agricultural real estate. On a more limited basis, it offers agricultural equipment financing and crop production loans which are secured by crops, equipment, and crop insurance. The total amount of agricultural loans outstanding at December 31, 2012, was $40.1 million, or 2.9% of its total loan portfolio. The Company offers a variety of consumer loans, such as installment loans to purchase cars, boats and other recreational vehicles. Its consumer loans typically are part of an overall customer relationship designed to support the individual consumer borrowing needs of its commercial loan and deposit customers. As of December 31, 2012, it had outstanding $39.5 million of consumer loans, or 2.9% of its total loan portfolio. The Company also engages in the origination of residential loans sold into the secondary market. Its mortgage originations were $177.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2012. It sells all of the originated mortgages to institutional purchasers shortly after closing.
Investment Activities
The types and maturities of securities purchased are primarily based on its liquidity and interest rate sensitivity position! s. As of ! December 31, 2012, investment securities held were United States Treasury securities, government agency securities, obligations of state and municipal subdivisions, Residential mortgage backed securities, and corporate bonds.
Sources of Funds
Deposits are the Company�� principal source of funds for use in lending and other general banking purposes. The Company provides a range of deposit products and services, including a variety of checking and savings accounts, debit cards, online banking, mobile banking, eStatements and bank-by-mail and direct deposit services. It also offers business accounts and management services, including analyzed business checking, business savings, and treasury management services. As of December 31, 2012, it had total deposits of approximately $1.4 billion. In addition to deposits, it utilizes Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances either as a short-term funding source or a longer-term funding source and to manage its interest rate risks on its loan portfolio. The maximum amount of short-term FHLB advances it had outstanding at any month end during the year ended December 31, 2012, was $16.0 million. The Company�� FHLB borrowings totaled $164.6 million as of December 31, 2012. Its FHLB advances are collateralized by assets, including a blanket pledge of certain loans with a carrying value of $524.8 million and FHLB stock. As of December 31, 2012, it had $92.7 million in undisbursed advance commitments (letters of credit) with the FHLB.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Markus Aarnio]
2. Independent Bank Group (IBTX) operates as a bank holding company for Independent Bank that provides commercial banking products and services for small to medium size businesses, professionals, and individuals in North and Central Texas.
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