Bove Banking On (Selected) Financials

Lots of analysts and fund managers tell investors that the credit crunch is not over, with more write-downs expected -- and that financial stocks are to be avoided at all costs. 

Punk Ziegel's Richard Bove is not among them.

Bove's firm has "buy" rating on a dozen banks, nearly half the banks it covers.

"Last Friday, when we priced the 12 that we have 'buys' on, they were up 5.9 percent on average, and the stock market was up 4.1 percent," he told CNBC.  "Not only did these stocks go up, but they beat the market."

He thinks that will continue to be the case going forward.

Recommendations:

"The ones that are up tend to be companies which are in the regions, like PNC , or BB&T , or US Bancorp , or UnionBanCal , companies which are not heavily involved with either the mortgage area, or in the capital markets area," he said. 

"You can continue to beat the market with bank stocks, if you pick them right, going through the remainder of the year."

Bove is less enthusiastic about community banks, which he says are essentially "residential real estate companies." 

"Their loan losses are rising pretty substantially," he noted.  "If you look at the FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] 'watch list,' you'll find that all 75 of the banks...are community banks."

Disclosures:

Disclosure information for Richard Bove was not immediately available.

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