Top Bank Stocks For 2014

Top Bank Stocks For 2014: M&T Bank Corporation (MTB)

M&T Bank Corporation operates as the holding company for M&T Bank and M&T Bank, National Association that provide commercial and retail banking services to individuals, corporations and other businesses, and institutions. It offers business loans and leases; business credit cards; deposit products, such as demand, savings, and time accounts; and financial services, including cash management, payroll and direct deposit, merchant credit card, and letters of credit. The company also provides residential real estate loans; multifamily commercial real estate loans; commercial real estate loans; one-to-four family residential mortgage loans; investment and trading securities; short-term and long-term borrowed funds; brokered certificates of deposit and interest rate swap agreements related thereto; and branch deposits. In addition, it offers foreign exchange, as well as asset management services. Further, the company provides consumer loans, and commercial loans and leases; cred it life, and accident and health reinsurance; and securities brokerage, investment advisory, and insurance agency services. As of December 31, 2009, it had 738 banking offices in New York State, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia; a commercial banking office in Ontario, Canada; and an office in George Town, Cayman Islands. The company was founded in 1969 and is headquartered in Buffalo, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mike Deane]

  M&T Bank (MTB) announced its fourth quarter and full year earnings before the bell on Friday, with quarterly GAAP earnings falling from last year’s Q4 while full year earnings rose 11%.

  MTB Earnings in Brief

  M&T Bank reported quarterly net income of $245.72 million, which was down from last year’s Q4 net income of $296.19 million. The co! mpany’s diluted EPS came in at $1.79 for the quarter, down from the $2.23 per diluted common share reported in last year’s Q4 results. MTB missed analysts’ estimates of $1.92 EPS. For the full year, MTB reported EPS of $8.38, marking an 11% increase from last year’s EPS of $7.54

  CFO Commentary

  Rene F. Jones, CFO and executive VP, had the following comments about the company’s earnings: “While expenses were elevated by investments in our infrastructure during 2013, M&T achieved a net operating return on average tangible common shareholders’ equity of 18.17% for the full year.  Our core capital position strengthened, as the Tier 1 common ratio grew to 9.25% at the 2013 year-end, up 17 basis points from September 30 and 168 basis points higher than at December 31, 2012.  We are also pleased with the continued improvement in credit quality.  M&T’s liquidity and risk profile was enhanced during the year through several actions, including replacing less liquid investment securities with Ginnie Mae securities and the securitization of loans held in the loan portfolio.  During the final two quarters of 2013 we invested heavily in several key areas, including risk management, capital planning and stress testing, regulatory compliance, and other operational and technology initiatives.  Those investments will better position M&T for the future.”

  No Dividend Change

  MTB did not announce a change to its quarterly dividend, and has not raised its dividend since 2007. It should be noted that MTB did not cut its dividend

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Sterne Agee's top pick among regional banks is M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB). Sterne Agee cut its 2014 earnings per share (EPS) estimate on the Buy-rated bank from $8.20 to $7.90 and the 2015 estimate has been cut from $9.50 to $9.00. The bank's fundamentals are strong and it continues to experience good organic lending growth. The consensus estimate on M&T sh! ares from! Thomson Reuters is around $121.20 yielding an implied gain of 6% based on Friday's closing price of $114.34. The forward multiple is 13.86 based on the consensus estimate for 2014 EPS of $8.25. Based on the Sterne Agee estimate of $7.90, the forward P/E ratio is around 15.4. M&T's 52-week range is $95.68 to $119.54.

source from Top Stocks Blog:http://www.topstocksblog.com/top-bank-stocks-for-2014-2.html