Long-known in the newsletter community for his expertise in income investing, the advisor has just launched a new blog service, Stocks that Pay You. Here, he looks at some winners and losers from the current proposals for financial regulation.

George says, "In my view, these supposedly massive changes amount to window dressing. Banks and other related firms can continue to do what they've always done: cherry pick regulators and play off one regulator against another.

"So, unless we get the government actually empowering the guys down the line inside all of these agencies and departments, don't look for any big changes, because - while the players and the names might be changing - the contest is staying the same.

Continue reading Income ideas: Winners from financial regulation

Income ideas: Winners from financial regulation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) started today's trading with a resounding thud after announcing a $1.25 billion stock offering. The regional banking issue said it will offer $1 billion in common shares and $250 million in new convertible preferred shares. The proceeds will address roughly half of the $2.5 billion in capital Regions was instructed to raise by the U.S. Treasury Department following its stress test results.

Despite a negative start to the session, RF has since ticked fractionally higher. The security has shed more than 34% of its value in 2009, and it's currently struggling under the weight of resistance from its 32-week moving average. Since 2007, RF has managed to notch just one weekly close above this steadily descending trendline.

Continue reading Put volume spikes as Regions Financial rushes to raise capital

Put volume spikes as Regions Financial rushes to raise capital originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 May 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Closing Bell: An IPO, Banks & Tech, all killing the bears (JPM, RST, SBUX, LUV, RF)

Closing Bell: An IPO, Banks & Tech, all killing the bears (JPM, RST, SBUX, LUV, RF) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The shares of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) surged this afternoon after the regional bank said it expects to report a first-quarter profit. In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Chairman and CEO Dowd Ritter attributed the unexpectedly profitable quarter to recent strength in new account openings and customer deposit growth.

If Wall Street seems shocked by the news, it's because analysts were predicting Regions to swallow a quarterly loss of about $290 million, or 42 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters. Plus, with nearly 5% of the equity's float sold short, it seems that many investors were also betting on the bank to report gloomy earnings.

Continue reading Regions Financial draws heavy call volume after 1Q profit forecast

Regions Financial draws heavy call volume after 1Q profit forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a dismal day on Wall Street for financial stocks, and Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) is no exception. The Alabama-based bank today reported an eye-popping quarterly loss of $6.22 billion, or $9.01 per share, as results were pressured by a $6 billion writedown in its banking and Treasury operations.

On an operating basis, Regions' loss of 35 cents per share exceeded the consensus estimate for a loss of 20 cents per share. Net charge-offs for the quarter soared to $796 million, compared to $107.5 million in the year-ago period. Additionally, the company confessed to "emerging stress" in its Florida-based real estate and mortgage businesses.

"Although we're encouraged by steps the government has taken to stabilize the housing market and revitalize the economy, there is no quick fix for credit quality issues currently plaguing the financial services industry," commented Dowd Ritter, RF's chairman, president and chief executive officer.

Ritter added that he doesn't expect unemployment to peak or real estate values to bottom in 2009, and he warned that bank earnings won't improve until such a trough is reached. He doesn't foresee the need to seek new capital from the government, though Regions will look for opportunities to shore up its capital position as market conditions allow.

Continue reading Regions Financial swallows huge quarterly loss, hits 24-year low

Regions Financial swallows huge quarterly loss, hits 24-year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Washington Post reports that Hank Paulson plans to turn the back of his hand to people who hold common shares of Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) in his "rescue" plan. But Paulson may bailout the holders of their preferred shares -- which currently pay a dividend yield of about 20%.

Why does Paulson prefer the preferred to the common shareholders? That's because the common shareholders are big mutual funds with lots of small shareholders who have no importance to the economy in his judgment. The preferred shareholders are regional banks whose capital he thinks would sink dangerously if he wipes out their dividend.

Below is a list from the Post of the big Fannie and Freddie preferred holders:

• Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) which has an estimated $200 million,
• M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) with $161 million, and
• Astoria Financial Corp. (NYSE: AF) with $83 million.

Continue reading Paulson to Fannie/Freddie common shareholders: Drop Dead

Paulson to Fannie/Freddie common shareholders: Drop Dead originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Regions Financial boosted by finance sector earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF), a financial holding company based in Birmingham, Alabama, recently down 99c to $12.76:

Friedman Billings has an underperform rating on RF. RF call option volume of 6,410 contracts compared to put volume of 37,361 contracts. RF June 12.5 straddle was priced at 85c. RF July option implied volatility of 72 was above its 26-week average of 48 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Option Update; Regions Financial put volume heavy; shares near 14-year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Goldman downgraded the department store sector to Neutral from Attractive after raising its 2008 oil forecast to $149 from $115, as it believes higher gas prices will impact consumer discretionary spend and sentiment. Goldman downgraded JC Penney (NYSE: JCP) and Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN) to Neutral and also removed Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• JMP Securities downgraded SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) to Underperform from Market Perform based on increased competition in NAND, a potential decline in royalty income, valuation, and lack of catalysts from flash-based solid state drives.
  
• CNET Networks (NASDAQ: CNET) was cut to Neutral from Buy at Banc of America following the tender offer from CBS (NYSE: CBS).

• Merrill downgraded Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) to Sell from Neutral.
  
• B. Riley downgraded Exar (NASDAQ: EXAR) to Neutral from Buy.
  
• Albermarle (NYSE: ALB) was lowered to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.

Analyst downgrades: Department store sector, SNDK and CNET originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 16 May 2008 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is no longer relegated to a tiny corner of the investment landscape; indeed, according to the Social Investment Forum, SRI now accounts for $2.7 trillion, up more than 18% since 2005," says Chuck Carlson.

Here, the editor of The DRIP Investor offers five stock that both rank high for their social responsibility and also stand out based on more traditional earnings and valuation analysis.

"The Social Investment Forum estimates that more than one in every 10 dollars under professional management in the U.S. is involved in SRI investing. What is driving the growth in SRI?

"One factor is the increasing numbers of women and younger investors among the investor populace have fueled demand for SRI investments.

"In addition, we see an increased focus on environment, social, and corporate governance issues. Further, widely publicized stories concerning global warming as well as various corporate governance issues, have caused many investors to reconsider how they deploy their investment capital.

Continue reading Socially responsible favorites

Socially responsible favorites originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 May 2008 10:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Jefferies upgraded shares of Venoco (NYSE:VQ) to Buy from Hold on increased confidence in the company's 5%-10% 2008 production growth target.
  
• Newfield Exploration (NYSE:NFX) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman Billings. The firm said there has been significant progress in the economics of NFX's Woodford play.
  
• Citigroup upgraded Regions Financial (NYSE:RF) to Hold from Sell on valuation, as they their concerns are now priced into shares.

• ASML Holdings (NASDAQ:ASML) was raised at Merrill to Buy from Neutral.
  
• UBS upgraded Forest Oil (NYSE:FST) to Buy from Neutral.
  
• Bear upgraded Gaylord Entertainment (NYSE:GET) to Outperform from Peer Perform.

Analyst upgrades: VQ, NFX and RF originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Regions Financial (NYSE: RF), a financial holding company with nearly $138 billion of assets in Birmingham, Alabama, is expected to report EPS on January 22. RF closed at $21.16. RF February option implied volatility of 58 is above its 26-week average of 33 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ: HBAN), a $54 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, closed at $12.43. HBAN is expected to report full Q4 EPS today. HBAN overall option implied volatility of 57 is above its 26-week average of 34 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.

Options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

Options update 1-17-08: Regional banks' volatility Elevated (RF, HBAN) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 08:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan based on expectations for margin expansion in 2H07 driven by share gains, stable pricing, and lower costs. Shares were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at American Technology as the firm believes the price war is ending sooner than expected and that NOR Flash could be divested soon.

• Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT) was upgraded at Wachovia to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect a re-acceleration in earnings growth and a lower probability of a recession.

• Soleil upgraded shares of Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE: WFC) to Buy from Hold as the firm believes WFC is an attractive late-cycle play with above-average growth prospects and superior risk management.

• Merrill Lynch upgraded shares of M&T Bank (NYSE: MTB) and Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) to Buy from Neutral, citing valuation. Oppenheimer upgraded M&T Bank to Neutral from Sell based on valuation and revised estimates. Keefe Bruyette raised Regions Financial rating to Market Perform from Underperform.
  

• Susquehanna upgraded shares of NICE Systems Ltd (NASDAQ: NICE) to Positive from Neutral as the firm expects strong execution from the company's robust product set and increased market share following the Verint Systems' (VRNT) acquisition of Witness Systems (WITS).

• Comerica (NYSE: CMA) was upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital.

• JP Morgan upgraded Interpublic Group of Cos (NYSE: IPG) to Overweight from Neutral.

• ThinkEquity upgraded Trimeris, Inc (NASDAQ: TRMS) to Source of Funds from Sell.

Analyst upgrades 4-18-07: CAT, CMA, INTC & WFC upgraded today originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Apr 2007 11:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.