Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014

In this segment of The Motley Fool's everything-financials show,�Where the Money Is, banking analysts Matt Koppenheffer and David Hanson discuss second-quarter earnings from Regions Financial (NYSE: RF  ) and give their takes on some other regional banks.

While Regions Financial and Huntington Bancshares seem to be stuck in neutral, PNC Financial Services appears to be well-positioned and poised to grab market share.

More outlook on the banking sector from The Motley Fool
Many investors are terrified about investing in big banking stocks after the crash, but the sector has one notable stand-out. In a sea of mismanaged and dangerous peers, it rises above as "The Only Big Bank Built to Last." You can uncover the top pick that Warren Buffett loves in The Motley Fool's�new report. It's free, so click here to access it now.

You can follow�David�and�Matt�on Twitter.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Whitehaven Coal Ltd(WHC.AX)

Whitehaven Coal Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, production, and operation of coal properties in New South Wales. It holds interests in the Gunnedah coal basin that comprises the Tarrawonga, Rocglen, and Sunnyside open cut mines; the Werris Creek project; the Narrabri underground mine; and the Vickery open cut mine. The company has 1,772 metric tones of thermal and metallurgical coal resources and 426 metric tones of marketable reserves. Whitehaven Coal Limited was founded in 1999 and is based in Sydney, Australia.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation(AMTD)

TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides securities brokerage services and technology-based financial services to retail investors, traders, and independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) in the United States. The company?s offerings include TD Ameritrade for self-directed retail investors; TD Ameritrade Institutional, which provides brokerage and custody services to independent RIAs and their clients; thinkorswim that offers a suite of trading platforms serving self-directed and institutional traders, and money managers; and Investools, which provides investor education products and services for stock, option, foreign exchange, futures, mutual fund, and fixed-income investors. Its offerings also include Amerivest, an online advisory service that develops portfolios of exchange-traded funds to enable long-term investors pursue their financial goals; and TD Ameritrade Corporate Services, which provides self-directed brokerage services to employees and executives of corporations. In addition, the company offers various products and services, such as common and preferred stocks; exchange-traded funds; a range of option trades, including complex, multi-leg option strategies; futures trades in various commodities, stock indices, and currencies; and foreign exchange products. Further, it provides mutual funds; treasury, corporate, government agency, and municipal bonds; mortgage-backed securities and certificates of deposit; new issue securities; margin lending; and cash management services. Additionally, the company offers trustee, custodial, and other trust-related services to retirement plans; and cash sweep and deposit account products through third-party relationships. It provides its products and services through the Internet, network of retail branches, mobile trading applications, and interactive voice response and registered representatives via telephone. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquart ered in Omaha, Nebraska.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  It almost seems impossible to believe that a new online-trading firm could find itself shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE:SCHW), TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (NYSE:AMTD), and E-TRADE Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:ETFC). All three of those companies have been around since the mid-90's, and got into the online-trading game at the exact right time (when the world wide web just exploded into existence), and having secured their places at the top three spots in terms of the industry's North American market share, it's tough to imagine any other name chipping away at AMTD, ETFC, or SCHW and becoming as big as these three iconic names. It's possible, however, when the opportunity is right. Well, the opportunity is right for one such name, and that budding company's odds of growth just got a whole lot better today.

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Getty Images No question, 2008 is a year that few investors will soon forget; the stock market suffered its worst losses in a generation and left millions of Americans without any financial security. But now, with five years of strong stock market gains behind us since the nadir of the Great Recession, average investors are finally feeling more confident -- and getting back into investing for their financial futures. The most recent Financial Review & Outlook Survey from TD Ameritrade (AMTD) showed several concrete signs that investor confidence has risen dramatically in the years since the crash. Let's take a look at some of the most important indications that ordinary Americans are moving in the right direction again. 1. More People Are Actually Benefiting From Strong Markets In 2013, the Dow Jones Industrials (^DJI) rose 26.5 percent, the index's best year since the mid-1990s. Yet in past years, during the five-year-long bull market, ordinary investors have been less likely to reap the benefit of the gains, as many cashed out of stocks during the financial crisis and missed a fair chunk of the rebound. The most recent survey results show that in 2013, though, that trend has definitely shifted. Fully two-thirds of those who responded said that 2013 was an excellent, very good, or good year, compared to just 11 percent saying that conditions were tough or very tough. Especially given that bond-market investments lost ground in 2013, the survey results suggest that investors were back in the stock market and enjoying its outsized gains last year. 2. More People Are Investing More Money in the Stock Market Investors have recovered their optimism about the stock market. The survey found that almost 80 percent of investors were putting the same amount of money or more as they did in 2012 into the stock market in 2013, up from 67 percent when TD Ameritrade did its similar survey in 2010. Correspondingly, the percentage of investors putting less money into

• [By Evan Niu, CFA]

  Last week, TD AMERITRADE (NYSE: AMTD  ) reported earnings for its fiscal third quarter. CEO Fred Tomczyk said nearly all metrics performed well, and the rising yield curve bodes well for its net interest income. Net revenues hit a new record at $725 million, and the company added net new client assets of approximately $11 billion. However, there was one thing holding it back: Apple.

Best Undervalued Companies To Own In Right Now: Janus Capital Group Inc (JNS)

Janus Capital Group Inc., and its subsidiaries (JCG), incorporated on January 23, 1998, provide investment management, administration, distribution and related services to financial advisors, individuals and institutional clients through mutual funds, other pooled investment vehicles, separate accounts and sub advised relationships (collectively referred to as investment products) in both domestic and international markets. JCG provides investment management competencies across a range of disciplines, including fundamental the United States and global equities (growth and value), mathematical equities, fixed income and alternatives through its subsidiaries, Janus Capital Management LLC (Janus), INTECH Investment Management LLC (INTECH) and Perkins Investment Management LLC (Perkins). JCG's investment products are distributed through three primary channels: retail intermediary, institutional and international.

The institutional channel serves the United States corporations, endowments, foundations, Taft-Hartley funds and public fund clients and focuses on distribution direct to the plan sponsor and through consultants. As of December 31, 2012, assets in the institutional channel totaled 24% of total Company assets under management. The international channel primarily serves professional retail and institutional investors outside of the United States, including central and local government pension plans, corporate pension plans, multi-managers, insurance companies and private banks. International products are offered through separate accounts, sub advisory relationships and Janus Capital Funds Plc, a mutual fund trust. As of December 31, 2012, assets in the international channel totaled 11% of total Company assets under management. JCG operates international offices in London, Paris, Milan, Munich, Frankfurt, The Hague, Dubai, Zurich, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Melbourne and Taipei. The retail intermediary channel serves financial advisors, third-party intermediaries and retirement platf! orms in the United States. In addition, this channel serves existing individual investors who invest in JCG products through a mutual fund supermarket or directly with JCG. As of December 31, 2012, assets in the retail intermediary channel totaled 65% of total Company assets under management.

Janus

Janus manages primarily growth equity portfolios. As of December 31, 2012, Janus managed 63% of total Company assets under management. The Janus Overseas Fund is included in the assets managed by Janus and represented approximately 6% during the year ended December 31, 2012.

INTECH

INTECH has managed institutional portfolios. INTECH's investment process is based on a mathematical theorem that seeks to add value for clients by capitalizing on the volatility in stock price movements. As of December 31, 2012, INTECH managed 26% of total Company assets under management.

Perkins

Perkins has managed value-disciplined investment products. With its fundamental research and careful consideration for downside risk, Perkins has established itself as a value manager. Perkins offers value equity investment products across a range of the United States asset classes and global equity. As of December 31, 2012, Perkins managed 11% of total Company assets under management.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Who wants in on the action?
  All that said, plenty of mutual fund companies have seen the writing on the wall and are eager to come to market with active ETFs. Mutual fund giants Fidelity, Franklin Templeton (NYSE: BEN  ) , Janus Capital (NYSE: JNS  ) , and Legg Mason (NYSE: LM  ) are just some of the companies looking to follow in PIMCO's footsteps with active ETFs. Each of these companies owes a huge portion of its profits to management fees on the billions in assets that it holds, and each recognizes the need to defend its turf by reaching into the ETF space. For Legg Mason and Franklin Templeton, which already offer closed-end mutual funds that trade on exchanges, moving to ETFs is an even shorter step.

• [By Matt Jarzemsky]

  “Valuations for many of these companies seem just as stretch as Internet stocks were back then,” asset management firm Janus Capital(JNS) writes in its latest monthly equities update. Some Janus funds rode high-flying technology and communications stocks to big gains during the 1990s, but saw those bets sour as the tech bubble burst.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Tower Financial Corporation(TOFC)

Tower Financial Corporation operates as the holding company for Tower Bank & Trust that provides commercial and consumer banking services in the metropolitan areas of Fort Wayne, Allen County, and Warsaw, Indiana. It accepts various deposits, which include checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and direct deposit services. The company?s loan portfolio comprises secured and unsecured commercial loans; commercial real estate loans; fixed rate, long-term residential mortgage loans, and construction loans; and personal loans and lines of credit to consumers for various purposes, such as the purchase of automobiles, boats, and other recreational vehicles, as well as to make home improvements and personal investments. In addition, it offers investment management and trust services, including estate planning and money management; traditional revocable trusts; irrevocable trusts; charitable trusts; estate administration; guardianship admi nistration; IRA administration; personal and institutional investment management; custodial services; and investment brokerage services. Further, the company provides securities and insurance brokerage services. It operates with six Allen County locations and one Warsaw location. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: CombiMatrix Corporation(CBMX)

CombiMatrix Corporation, a molecular diagnostics company, operates primarily in the fields of genetic analysis and molecular diagnostics in the United States. The company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, CombiMatrix Diagnostics, operates a diagnostics reference laboratory that provides DNA-based clinical diagnostic testing services to physicians, hospitals, and other laboratories in two primary areas, including prenatal and postnatal developmental disorders, and oncology. It offers a suite of developmental disorder array tests on the prenatal and postnatal application of array-comparative genomic hybridization in diagnosing genomic syndromes associated with developmental delays, autism spectrum disorders, dysmorphic features, and/or birth defects. The company also provides DNAarray?Heme Profile test to address various common hematological malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia; DNAarray?HER2 PRO test for breast cancer; and DNAarray?Tumor Profile test for the analysis of solid tumors, including breast, colon, lung, prostate, and brain tumors. In addition, it focuses on developing a series of drug compounds to address various oncology-related diseases. CombiMatrix Corporation was founded in 1995 and is based in Irvine, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Also, shares of Combimatrix Corp. (CBMX) rose 7.5% to $2.73 in moderate volume late Friday following a Securities and Exchange Commission filing showing Longwood Capital Partners acquired a 5.1% stake in the microcap molecular diagnostics company.

• [By Roberto Pedone]

  One stock that's starting to trend within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade is CombiMatrix (CBMX), which operates a diagnostics reference laboratory that provides DNA-based clinical diagnostic testing services to physicians, hospitals, clinics and other laboratories in the areas of prenatal and postnatal development disorders, and hematology/oncology genomics. This stock hasn't done much over the last three months, with shares up by just 1.4%.

  If you take a look at the chart for CombiMatrix, you'll notice that this stock has been uptrending over the last few weeks, with shares moving higher from its low of $2.14 to its recent high of $2.90 a share. During that move, shares of CBMX have been making mostly higher lows and higher highs, which is bullish technical price action. That uptrend has now pushed shares of CBMX within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade.

  Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CBMX if it manages to break out above some near-term overhead resistance levels at $2.90 to $2.92 a share, and then once it clears its 200-day moving average at $2.96 to more near-term overhead resistance at $3.20 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 volume of 823,656 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then CBMX will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $3.70 to $4.44 a share.

  Traders can look to buy CBMX off any weakness to anticipate that breakout and simply use a stop that sits right below its 50-day moving average at $2.57 a share or just below more support at $2.20 to $2.14 a share. One can also buy CBMX off strength once it starts to take out those breakout levels with volume and then simply use a stop that sits a comfortable percentage from your entry point.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Mariner Corporation Limited(MCX.AX)

Mariner Corporation Limited engages in the management of investment schemes in Australia. It also involves in the cattle leasing activities. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Melbourne, Australia.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Crystal Rock Holdings Inc.(CRVP)

Crystal Rock Holdings, Inc. engages in the production, marketing, and distribution of bottled water, and distribution of coffee, ancillary products, and other office refreshment products in New England, New York, and New Jersey. The company also rents and sells water coolers to customers to dispense bottled water; and sells and rents units to commercial accounts that filter water from the existing source on site. It provides coolers in a range of consumer preferences, such as cold, or hot and cold dispensing units. In addition, the company rents and sells coffee brewing equipment; and distributes various coffee, tea, and other hot beverage products and related supplies, as well as other consumable products used around the office. Further, it offers vending services. The company markets and distributes its water products in three and five gallon bottles to homes and offices. Vermont Pure Holdings markets its products primarily under the Vermont Pure Natural Spring Water, Cr ystal Rock, Cool Beans, Baronet, and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters trade names. The company was formerly known as Vermont Pure Holdings, Ltd. and changed its name to Crystal Rock Holdings, Inc. on May 1, 2010. Crystal Rock Holdings was founded in 1989 and is based in Watertown, Connecticut.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Iron Mountain Incorporated(IRM)

Iron Mountain Incorporated, together with its subsidiaries, provides information management services primarily in North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers records management services, including records management program development and implementation based on best-practices to help customers comply with specific regulatory requirements; implementation of policy-based programs that feature storage for various media comprising paper; flexible retrieval access and retention management; hybrid services to help organizations gain control over their paper records; and specialized services for vital records and regulated industries, such as healthcare, energy, government, and financial services. It also provides data protection and recovery services, such as disaster preparedness; off-site vaulting of data backup media for data recovery in the event of a disaster, human error, or virus; online backup and recovery solutions for desktop and la ptop computers, and remote servers; and technology escrow services to protect and manage source code and other proprietary information. In addition, the company offers information destruction services that primarily consist of physical secure shredding operations; and is involved in the shredding of sensitive documents to third-party recyclers. Further, it provides fulfillment services that assemble custom marketing packages and orders, as well as provide reporting on customer marketing literature inventories; and professional consulting services to develop and implement comprehensive records and information management programs. Iron Mountain Incorporated serves commercial, legal, banking, health care, accounting, insurance, entertainment, and government organizations. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Holly LaFon]

  Singer had also bought debt of Chrysler and Lehman Brothers, and has taken activist equity stakes in Novell and Iron Mountain (IRM).

  He sued his first nation in 1996, when his firm bought defaulted debt of Peru. After a lengthy legal battle and the overturning of a law that stood in his way, Elliott received a $58 million judgment on his $11 million investment, according to Fortune. He has also sued Congo-Brazzaville, Argentina, and several other countries using the controversial tactic that some say disenfranchises the people of the countries with indebted governments.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Super Cheap Auto Group Ltd(SUL.AX)

Super Retail Group Limited operates as a retailer of automotive and leisure products in Australia and New Zealand. It retails automotive parts and accessories, handyman items, and tools and equipment to marine and motorbike products, including batteries, car care products, exterior accessories, hand and power tools, in-car navigation systems, in-car stereo equipment, lighting and electrical products, oils, filters and additives, outdoor equipment and accessories, seat covers and interior accessories, spare parts, paint and panels, and performance products. The company also offers boating, camping, and fishing equipment, such as lures, rods and reels, tackle boxes, fishing nets, tents, ropes, pegs, cooking equipment, clothing and hiking gears, fishing rod holders, bilge pumps, and fish finders. In addition, it engages in the wholesale, retail, and distribution of bicycles, bicycle accessories, and clothing; and retail of outdoor entertainment and camping leisure products, a s well as apparel. As of July 2, 2011, Super Retail Group Limited operated 422 stores, including 274 Supercheap Auto stores, 78 BCF stores, 20 Goldcross Cycles stores, and 50 Ray?s Outdoors stores. The company was formerly known as Super Cheap Auto Group Limited and changed its name to Super Retail Group Limited in December 2010. Super Retail Group Limited was founded in 1972 and is based in Lawnton, Australia.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Northgate(NTG.L)

Northgate plc, an investment holding company, engages in the rental of light commercial vehicles in the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Republic of Ireland. It offers vehicle hiring and fleet management services. The company also sells former rental vehicles to retail and trade customers; and provides workshop and insurance services. In addition, it provides online vehicle hiring and vehicle monitoring services to its customers. The company operates a fleet of approximately 60,900 vehicles from 65 sites in the United Kingdom and Ireland; and a fleet of approximately 48,900 vehicles from 32 sites in Spain. It serves a range of industries comprising construction, distribution, local authorities, manufacturing and engineering, public utilities, retailers, and wholesalers and business services. Northgate plc was founded in 1981 and is based in Darlington, the United Kingdom.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Nile Therapeutics Inc. (NLTX)

Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a development stage biopharmaceutical company, develops pharmaceutical products for the treatment of cardiovascular and renal diseases. Its lead product candidate include Cenderitide, a chimeric natriuretic peptide that has completed Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of patients following admission for acutely decompensated heart failure. The company also develops CU-NP, a natriuretic peptide, which is in pre-clinical studies for the treatment of cardiovascular and renal diseases. Nile Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is based in San Mateo, California.

Hot Regional Bank Stocks To Buy For 2014: Cue Energy Resources Ltd (CUE.AX)

Cue Energy Resources Limited engages in the exploration, development, and production of petroleum properties. It explores for hydrocarbons through its projects located in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.