Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Buy Right Now

NEW YORK (The Street) -- Major U.S. markets traded lower Thursday as some retail stocks nosedived before earnings season kicks off this evening.

The S&P 500 was off 0.25% to 1,832.85 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.39% lower at 16,399.03. The Nasdaq was falling 0.44% to 4,147.19.
Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) was nosediving nearly 13% after it projected earnings that missed estimates. Family Dollar Stores (FDO) and L Brands (LB) were falling 6.60% and 4.6% respectively after cutting profit forecasting. Deep discounting failed to help lift December sales for these retailers. Meanwhile, Macy's (M) and Costco (COST) jumped after the former's job cut announcement and the latter's robust same-store sales report. Macy's shares were 8% higher at $55.72 while Costco was up 2% to $116.55.  Alcoa (AA) and World Alumina agreed to pay $384 million to the U.S. Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission to settle bribery allegations linked to a contract with Bahrain's aluminum smelter. Alcoa shares were 2.5% lower at $10.56. The European Central Bank and Bank of England both left their key interest rates unchanged at current record low levels.  U.S. weekly initial jobless claims for the week of Jan. 4 fell to 330,000, beating expectations of 335,000. Meanwhile Job cuts fell to the lowest level of the year in December, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Generally, expectations for Friday's December government job report have been rising especially after ADP private payroll employment data for December beat estimates on Wednesday. Eurozone economic sentiment improved to a 21/2-year high in December, according to the European Commission. German industrial production increased by a greater than expected 1.9% in November. Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George is scheduled to speak on banking and the economy in Madison, Wis., at 1:30 p.m. Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Narayana Kocherlakota is set to participate in a public town hall meeting in Minneapolis at 8 p.m.  The Nikkei closed off 1.50% while the Hang Seng finished 0.91% lower. Germany's DAX was falling 0.46% while the London FTSE was 0.55% lower.  -- By Jane Searle in New York

Hot Media Stocks For 2015: EverBank Financial Corp (EVER)

EverBank Financial Corp, incorporated in 2004, is an unitary savings and loan holding company. The Company provides a range of financial products and services directly to customers through multiple business channels. Its operating subsidiary is EverBank. As of December 31, 2011, EverBank had $ 10.3 billion deposits. EverBank offers a range of banking, lending and investing products to consumers and businesses. EverBank provides services to customers through Websites, over the phone, through the mail and at 14 Florida-based Financial Centers. The Company operates in two operating business segments: Banking and Wealth Management, and Mortgage Banking. Its Banking and Wealth Management segment includes earnings generated by and activities related to deposit and investment products and services and portfolio lending and leasing activities. Its Mortgage Banking segment consists of activities related to the origination and servicing of residential mortgage loans. In April 2012, the Company acquired MetLife Bank�� warehouse finance business. In October 2012, it acquired Business Property Lending, Inc.

Asset Origination and Fee Income Businesses

The Company has a range of asset origination and fee income businesses. The Company generates generate fee income from its mortgage banking activities, which consist of originating and servicing one-to-four family residential mortgage loans. It originates prime residential mortgage loans using a centrally controlled underwriting, processing and fulfillment infrastructure through financial intermediaries (including community banks, credit unions, mortgage bankers and brokers), consumer direct channels and financial centers. Its mortgage origination activities include originating, underwriting, closing, warehousing and selling to investors prime conforming and jumbo residential mortgage loans. From its mortgage origination activities, it earns fee-based income on fees charged to borrowers and other noninterest income from gains on sales from ! mortgage loans and servicing rights. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it originated six billion dollars of residential loans. It generates mortgage servicing business through the retention of servicing from its origination activities, acquisition of bulk mortgage servicing rights (MSR) and related servicing activities.

The Company�� mortgage servicing business includes collecting loan payments, remitting principal and interest payments to investors, managing escrow funds for the payment of mortgage-related expenses, such as taxes and insurance, responding to customer inquiries, counseling delinquent mortgagors, supervising foreclosures and liquidations of foreclosure properties and otherwise administering its mortgage loan servicing portfolio. It earns mortgage servicing fees and other ancillary fee-based income in connection with these activities. It services a portfolio by both product and investor, including agency and private pools of mortgages secured by properties throughout the United States. As of December 31, 2011, its mortgage servicing business, which services mortgage loans for itself and others, managed loan servicing administrative functions for loans with unpaid principal balance (UPB) of $54.8 billion.

The Company originates originate equipment leases nationwide through relationships with approximately 280 equipment vendors with networks of creditworthy borrowers and provide asset-backed loan facilities to other leasing companies. Its equipment leases and loans finance essential-use health care, office product, technology and other equipment. Its commercial financings range from approximately $25,000 to $1.0 million per transaction, with typical lease terms ranging from 36 to 60 months. Its commercial finance activities provide it with access to approximately 25,000 small business customers nationwide, which creates opportunities to cross-sell its deposit, lending and wealth management products. It focuses to offer warehouse loans, which are short-ter! m revolvi! ng facilities, primarily securitized by agency and government collateral. It provides financial advisory, planning, brokerage, trust and other wealth management services to its mass-affluent and high-net-worth customers through its registered broker dealer and recently-formed registered investment advisor subsidiaries.

Interest-Earning Asset Portfolio

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� interest-earning assets were $11.7 billion. As of December 31, 2011, its loan and lease held for investment portfolio was $6.5 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the carrying values of its interest-earning assets are: residential, government-insured (residential), securities, commercial and commercial real estate, Bank of Florida (covered), lease financing receivables, and other.

Residential includes primarily prime loans originated and retained from its mortgage banking activities, acquired from third parties or held for sale to other investors. government-insured (residential) includes Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) pool buyouts with government insurance, sourced from its mortgage banking segment and third-party sources. Securities include non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) purchased at significant discounts. This portfolio includes protection against credit losses from purchase discounts, subordination in the securities structures and borrower equity. Commercial and commercial real estate includes a range of commercial loans, including owner-occupied commercial real estate, commercial investment property and small business commercial loans. As of December 31, 2011, Bank of Florida (Covered) includes commercial, multi-family and commercial real estate loans with $71.3 million of purchase discounts. Lease financing receivables include covered lease financing receivables. As of December 31, 2011, the lease portfolio had $64.7 million of total discounts. Other includes home equity loans and lines ! of credit! , consumer and credit card loans and other investments.

Deposit Generation

As of December 31, 2011, the Company had approximately $10.3 billion in deposits. Its market-based deposit products, consisting of its WorldCurrency, MarketSafe and EverBank Metals Select products, provide investment capabilities for customers seeking portfolio diversification with respect to foreign currencies, commodities and other indices. Its financial portal includes online bill-pay, account aggregation, direct deposit, single sign-on for all customer accounts and other features. Its Website and mobile device applications provide information on its product offerings, financial tools and calculators, newsletters, financial reporting services and other applications for customers to interact with it and manages all of their EverBank accounts on a single integrated platform. Its new mobile applications allow customers using iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry devices to view account balances, conduct real time balance transfers between EverBank accounts, administer billpay, review account activity detail and remotely deposit checks.

The Company generates deposit customer relationships through its consumer direct, financial center and financial intermediary distribution channels. Its consumer direct channel includes Internet, e-mail, telephone and mobile device access to product and customer support offerings. Its direct distribution with a network of 14 financial centers in Florida metropolitan areas, include Jacksonville, Naples, Ft. Myers, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa Bay and Clearwater. As of December 31, 2011, its financial centers had average deposits of $130.5 million, which is approximately double the industry average. In addition, it generates noninterest-bearing escrow deposits from its mortgage servicing business.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Nicole Seghetti]

  3. Build your savings account
  Take this opportunity to bolster your savings such that you have at least three months' worth of living expenses socked away. Money market or savings accounts will provide you with the best rates. For example, American Express' (NYSE: AXP  ) high-yield savings account pays 0.85%, and Capital One Financial's (NYSE: COF  ) Capital One 360 offers a 0.75% APY. Both accounts boast no minimum balances and no fees. Meanwhile, EverBank Financial (NYSE: EVER  ) pays an attractive 1.01% money market rate but requires a $1,500 minimum opening balance. �

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Buy Right Now: Sotherly Hotels Inc (SOHO)

SoTHERLY Hotels Inc., formerly MHI Hospitality Corporation, incorporated on August 2004, is a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT) that was formed to own, acquire, renovate and reposition primary full-service upper upscale and upscale hotel properties located in primary markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern United States. The Company conducts its business through MHI Hospitality, L.P., its operating partnership, of which the Company is the general partner. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned approximately 77% of the partnership units in its operating partnership. In November 2013, SoTHERLY Hotels Inc announced that it has acquired the entity which owns the Crowne Plaza Houston Downtown Hotel, a 259-room, upscale, full-service hotel located in downtown Houston, Texas.

As of March 1, 2012, the Company�� portfolio consisted of 10 primarily full-service up-scale and upper up-scale hotels located in seven states with an aggregate of 2,424 rooms and approximately 120,200 square feet of meeting space. Nine of these hotels are wholly owned by subsidiaries of its operating partnership and operate under the Hilton Worldwide, InterContinental Hotels Group and Starwood Hotels and Resorts brands and are managed on a day to day basis by MHI Hotels Services, LLC (MHI Hotels Services). It also owns a 25% indirect non-controlling interest in the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach Resort through a joint venture with Carlyle.

The Company leases its hotel properties to MHI Hospitality TRS, LLC (its TRS Lessee), which in turn has engaged MHI Hotels Services, an independent management company, to manage its hotels. Its TRS Lessee is a wholly owned subsidiary of MHI Hospitality TRS Holding, Inc. (MHI Holding, and collectively, MHI TRS). As of March 1, 2012, the Company�� portfolio consisted of the properties, including Crowne Plaza Hampton Marina, Crowne Plaza Tampa Westshore , Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront , Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront , ! DoubleTree by Hilton Brownstone - University and Holiday Inn Laurel West. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owns two leasehold interests in the Shell Island Resort, a 160-unit condominium resort property in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By George Putnam]

  Steve Halpern: Now, another pick that you have is Sotherly Hotels (SOHO). Could you tell us about that company?

  George Putnam: Sure. This is a small-cap name. Like many others in the industry, it had to struggle a bit from 2008 and has devoted most of its attention to getting its balance sheet back in order, and some of its existing hotels fixed-up and repositioned.

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Upscale hotel property real estate investment trust Sotherby (SOHO) raised its quarterly dividend 12.5% to 4.5 cents per share, payable on Jan. 1, 2014 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 13.
  SOHO Dividend Yield:�3.87%

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Buy Right Now: Legacy Reserves LP(LGCY)

Legacy Reserves LP, an independent oil and natural gas limited partnership, engages in the acquisition and development of oil and natural gas properties primarily located in the Permian Basin, Mid-Continent, and Rocky Mountain regions of the United States. As of December 31, 2010, it owned interests in producing oil and natural gas properties in 370 fields in the Permian Basin, Texas Panhandle, Wyoming, Oklahoma, and several other states; operated 2,132 gross productive wells; and owned non-operated interests in 3,227 gross productive wells, as well as had proved reserves of approximately 52.8 million barrels of crude oil equivalent. Legacy Reserves GP, LLC operates as the general partner of the partnership. Legacy Reserves LP was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Robert Rapier]

  VNR is one of 14 companies/partnerships that are categorized as exploration and production, or ��pstream.��Other notable entries in this category include BreitBurn Energy Partners (Nasdaq: BBEP), Linn Energy (Nasdaq: LINE), Memorial Production Partners (Nasdaq: MEMP), QR Energy (NYSE: QRE), Legacy Reserves (Nasdaq: LGCY), EV Energy Partners (Nasdaq: EVEP), and Mid-Con Energy Partners (Nasdaq: MCEP).

Hot Diversified Bank Companies To Buy Right Now: FBR & Co (FBRC)

FBR & Co., formerly FBR Capital Markets Corporation, is a full-service investment banking, institutional brokerage and asset management company. In addition, it makes principal investments, including merchant banking investments. The Company�� subsidiaries are FBR Capital Markets & Co. (FBR & Co.), FBR Capital Markets International, Ltd. (FBRIL), Financial Services Authority (FSA), and FBR Fund Advisers, Inc. (FBR Fund Advisers). Its segments include capital markets, which include investment banking and institutional brokerage and research; asset management, and principal investing, which includes merchant banking. It provides capital raising services, including underwriting and placement of public and private equity and debt; financial advisory services, including merger and acquisition advisory, restructuring, liability management, recapitalization and strategic alternative analysis; asset management services through a family of mutual funds; institutional sales and trading services focused on equities, equity-linked securities, listed options, high-yield bonds, senior debt and bank loans; and research coverage.

Capital Markets

The Company�� capital markets business is conducted by its investment banking and institutional brokerage professionals through its United States and United Kingdom broker-dealer subsidiaries. These professionals provide investment banking services, including capital raising and financial advisory services, and institutional brokerage services, including sales, trading, and research services, to its institutional clients across its core industry sectors.

Asset Management

The Company�� investment adviser subsidiaries principally manage a family of mutual funds. At December 31, 2011, it managed client assets through its 10 mutual fund product lines that cover a range of sectors and asset classes. Through attention to relative valuation and security selection, it manages mutual funds strive both to participate in rising m! arkets and preserve capital in down markets. It focuses on expanding its asset management business.

The Company�� investing activity consists primarily of investments in merchant banking investments, investments in publicly traded companies, and investments in short-term liquid instruments. This strategy involves putting its capital to work alongside the capital of its institutional clients.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Zachary Tracer]

  FBR & Co. (FBRC) is leading the sale, according to a regulatory filing today from Emeryville, California-based NMI. The company said it�� seeking to raise $25 million, a placeholder amount used to calculate registration fees, according to the document.

• [By DAILYFINANCE]

  Brian Smale/Microsoft via Getty ImagesNewly named Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. SAN FRANCISCO -- After compiling a list of more than 100 CEO candidates, Microsoft settled on Satya Nadella a homegrown leader who joined the software maker in the early 1990s. That's back when Google's founders were teenagers and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was in elementary school. Tuesday's hiring of Nadella as Microsoft's CEO after a five-month search is a safe move that's likely to be greeted with sighs of relief around the company's Redmond, Wash., headquarters, industry analysts say. But the methodical, almost predictable decision is likely to reinforce perceptions that Microsoft (MSFT) is a plodding company reluctant to take risks as it competes against younger rivals who relish going out on a limb. While Google (GOOG) founder and CEO Larry Page boasts about his company taking "moon shots" and Zuckerberg promises to "move fast and break things," Microsoft has fallen behind the technological curve after underestimating the importance of Internet search more than a decade ago and reacting too slowly to the rise of mobile devices during the past seven years. Meanwhile, the sales of personal computers running on Microsoft's Windows software are shrinking. Microsoft's malaise may have narrowed the field of up-and-coming visionaries interested in running a company founded in 1975. Just as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Apple (AAPL) founder Steve Jobs would never have considered working at IBM (IBM) in the 1980s, today's entrepreneurial whiz kids scoff at Microsoft's overtures. "Going to work at Microsoft could make it look like you are going back to the dark ages," says Richard Metheny, a management coach for the executive search firm Witt/Kieffer in Chicago. "It's a well-entrenched business that has had trouble lately figuring out how to play in this new world." Despite its challenges, Microsoft remains a moneymaking machine that sits atop an $84 billion cash pile. Tha