Editor’s Note: Both Chief Income Strategist Marc Lichtenfeld and Contributing Analyst Jody Chudley have been pounding the table on the banking sector for months.
This beaten-down industry went into the COVID-19 crash boasting the strongest balance sheets its companies have ever had, suggesting that the downturn handed investors a unique buying opportunity.
Our friends at Trade of the Day couldn’t agree more. So today, we’re sharing analysis from expert Karim Rahemtulla on a stock we’ve mentioned here at Wealthy Retirement before…
A stock that our experts love for the long term and that Karim loves for the short term.
Read on for the details on this special stock – including a price target for buying.
And if you’re interested in more short-term action, consider joining Karim and his trading partner, Bryan Bottarelli, in The War Room, a special community of likeminded investors who have one goal: to make successful trades.
Last month, their team saw an average of three winners per day – thanks in part to a special strategy that helps members transform their portfolios overnight.
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– Mable Buchanan, Managing Editor
Banks were hammered by the effects of COVID-19 early on in the crisis. The big players, like Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Citigroup (NYSE: C), all saw shares fall by as much as 50% from pre-COVID-19 levels.
Some, like Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), dropped even more.
The Fed forced them to tighten their belt, cut, reduce or limit their dividends, stop share buybacks, and use very stringent lending standards.
They’re not out of the woods yet, but the sector is much healthier than it was six months ago.
This improvement can be seen in several ways…
- Deposits are increasing.
- Loan losses are moderating and reserving less quarter over quarter.
- Banks are buying back their own shares again as the Fed recognizes that the trillions in stimulus checks have benefited them by reducing loan losses.
In fact, many banks should begin to claw back the money they set aside, which will show up in their earnings reports.
So which bank should you buy?
My pick is Wells Fargo, but with a few conditions…
- Buy the first half on a pullback to less than $30 per share – which shares currently trade right above.
- Add the second half at $28 or less to make up a full position.
Wells Fargo became the poster child for “bad banks” after it was accused of falsifying new customer accounts. It paid a huge price: sanctions on asset accumulation, forced resignations of C-level executives, billions in fines and greater supervision.
After all of that, Wells Fargo shares are now the cheapest of all the major banks based on book value. And the company still maintains a huge base of deposits, more than $1 trillion, and the ability to benefit from an upward-trending economic cycle.
I believe we will see a much better 2021. Trillions in stimulus, vaccines, consumer optimism and rising interest rates are all great news for banks.
Good investing,
Karim
P.S. In The War Room, I have been pounding the table on banks for months, and members were in on the story well before the general public chimed in.
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