It always seems to happen when something blows up on Wall Street or in the financial world. Stock traders, especially from the quantitative and hedge fund variety, tend to use the old “shoot first and ask questions later” strategy. That is what happened when we had some of the biggest bank defaults and failures ever back in March, when Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic all went down in flames.
While the overall stress on the financial system has calmed, there are still some worries that a contagion is still possible. The good news for the mega-cap money-center banks is that rules and regulations put in after the global financial crisis back in 2008 have kept them in good shape, and many of the top regional banks that were hammered after the failures are also in solid financial condition.
Goldman Sachs recently released an exhaustive and comprehensive report on the regional banks, touching on every aspect the banks have dealt with from deposits to loan growth, the shift out of non-interest-bearing deposits and the potential pressure on non-interest-income and additional metrics.
We screened the list of stocks in the Goldman Sachs report, looking for Buy-rated regional banks that pay solid dividends. Five stocks made the cut, though it is important to remember that no single analyst report should be used as a sole basis for any buying or selling decision.
Ally Financial
The bank with no buildings still could be poised to have a strong 2023. Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a digital financial services company that provides various digital financial products and services to consumer, commercial and corporate customers primarily in the United States and Canada. It was formerly known as GMAC and changed its name in May 2010.
Its Automotive Finance Operations segment offers automotive financing services, including providing retail installment sales contracts, loans and operating leases, term loans to dealers, financing dealer floor plans and other lines of credit to dealers, warehouse lines to automotive retailers and fleet financing. It also provides financing services to companies and municipalities for the purchase or lease of vehicles and vehicle-remarketing services.
The Insurance Operations segment offers consumer finance protection and insurance products through the automotive dealer channel and commercial insurance products directly to dealers. This segment provides vehicle service and maintenance contracts and guaranteed asset protection products, and it underwrites commercial insurance coverages, which primarily insure dealers’ vehicle inventory.
The Mortgage Finance Operations segment manages consumer mortgage loan portfolio that includes bulk purchases of jumbo and low-to-moderate income mortgage loans originated by third parties, as well as direct-to-consumer mortgage offerings.
The Corporate Finance Operations segment provides senior secured leveraged cash flow and asset-based loans to middle market companies, leveraged loans and commercial real estate products to serve companies in the health care industry. The company also offers commercial banking products and services. In addition, it provides securities brokerage and investment advisory services.
Investors receive a 4.60% dividend. Goldman Sachs has a $35 target price on Ally Financial stock. The consensus target is $32.35. The stock closed on Thursday at $27.28, which was up over 4% on the day, as some big insider buying provided a tailwind.
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