Today’s news: BB&T Corp. (BBT), Blackstone Group (BX) and Comerica (CMA) all reported third-quarter earnings beats.
BB&T Corp. (BBT - yield 3.3%) reported record third-quarter diluted EPS of $1.01 (or $1.03) vs. the consensus estimate of $1.00. Adjusted diluted earnings were $1.03. Revenue exceeded $2.9 billion, on target with expectations.
Annualized loan growth of 5.8% should greatly please the stock market, because banks’ loan growth was the linchpin—or should I say, the most recent excuse—of analysts’ caution toward bank stocks. One subset of loans on which the market has been focused and worried—commercial & industrial (C&I)—increased by 2.3% annualized. That number is big enough that it should alleviate market jitters. Nonperforming assets and loans fell to 0.27% of total assets, their lowest level since 2006.
BB&T will host an Investor Day on Wednesday, November 14.
The price chart has been bearish in recent months. Although BBT is having a good day today, the price has not yet stabilized, which it will need to do before it can rise again. Hold.
Blackstone Group LP (BX – yield 6.8%*) reported record third-quarter economic net income (ENI) of $0.76, above the $0.74 Thomson Reuters consensus estimate. (From Reuters: “ENI reflects the mark-to-market valuation gains or losses on Blackstone’s portfolio and is a closely watched earnings metric for U.S. private equity firms.”) By the way, Blackstone now owns Thomson Reuters. During the quarter, assets under management rose to a record $456.7 billion and the business repurchased 6 million shares of its common stock. Blackstone additionally announced its next quarterly dividend of $0.64 per share*.
BX is an extremely attractive investment for yield investors and growth & income investors. Speculative investors have an opportunity to make even more profit if BX converts from an L.P. to a C-corp. next year. Buy BX now. Strong Buy.
*The payout varies each quarter with the total of the last four announced payouts equaling $2.42 and yielding 6.8%.
Comerica (CMA – yield 2.8%) reported third-quarter results this week. Highlights of the quarter included:
• $1.86 diluted EPS vs. $1.76 consensus estimate
• Rising loan yields
• Expected positive loan growth through year end
• Well-positioned to meaningfully benefit from rising interest rates
• No provision for credit losses
• Repurchased $500 million of common stock
• Plans to continue returning excess capital to shareholders
Investors can access the presentation, press release and conference call here.
CMA is an undervalued growth & income stock. All of the pertinent numbers—EPS, P/E, dividend payout and yield—are much more attractive than they were a year ago, yet the share price has come down to early January levels. The stock is cheap and the share price is suffering. I expect CMA to eventually perform well. There’s 17% upside to recent highs at 99, at which point the stock will still be undervalued. Buy.