Banking, finance, and taxes
Which Major Banks Are Performing the Best for a Trump Presidency
Published:
Last Updated:
That was fast. The media had warned frequently that a Donald Trump victory would bring immediate calamity to the financial markets. But with control of the House and Senate still in Republican hands, there is now a hint of rekindled growth and lower regulation in the air.
There are going to be sector winners and sector losers from the change from the election’s outcome. We covered 11 major stock winners from the Trump victory, as well as nine big stock losers from Clinton’s loss. 24/7 Wall St. also covered many other key issues and winners around the Trump victory, as well as which sectors and groups would have serious headwinds based on Clinton not carrying the torch forward.
While the banking and financial sector may not get to run back to the perils from before the recession, the reality is that banks were big winners on Wednesday. And they, at least so far, are serious winners on Thursday as well.
24/7 Wall St. took a look at the real winners in the major money center banks and bulge-bracket brokerage firms. Included are the gains, the book value on a relative basis, the 52-week trading ranges, the market values and even the respective dividend yields offered by each company.
If you want to know if there is really a sea change coming in bank regulations, go back to a live post-election comment from former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. He just said on a CNBC interview on Thursday morning: “I Would love to see Dodd-Frank Disappear.”
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) was up 5.7% at 17.97 on Wednesday, and early Thursday the stock was up 5.5% more at $18.97. Bank of America is still listed as being worth 0.75 times book value, and it has the benefit of having the Merrill Lynch brokerage and asset management unit.
Bank of America’s 52-week trading range is $10.99 to $18.98, and the consensus analyst price target is $17.95. The company’s market cap is $190 billion. Currently the dividend yield is 1.8%.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) was up 4.3% at $553.83 and it still has many global operations that make it harder to evaluate. It remains the cheapest of the money center banks against book value, with a price-to-book ratio of 0.70.
Shares of Citigroup have traded in a range of $34.52 to $55.37 over the past year. The consensus price target is $54.88, and a total market cap is $152 billion. Shareholders receive a dividend of approximately 1.3%.
On Wednesday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) closed up 4.6% at $73.25, and its shares were up 5.1% at $77.00 on Thursday. JPMorgan is valued at 1.15 times book value, and CEO Jamie Dimon is yet again considered the best major banker in America.
The 52-week trading range is $52.50 to $77.25, and JPMorgan’s consensus price target is $72.24. The company’s market cap is $277 billion. This megabank has a yield of 2.7%.
Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) was up 5.4% at $47.99 on Wednesday, likely because this bank’s account scandal woes were never really mentioned as a major target by Trump in the election. Its shares were up another 6.4% at $51.05 early Thursday — still about 10% shy of the 52-week high. Wells Fargo is valued at 1.36 times book value, and while that is the highest premium to book value of the money center banks, it is far lower than its peak.
The 52-week range for Wells Fargo shares currently is $43.55 to $56.26. The consensus price target is $49.34, and the dividend yield is 3.3%. The total market cap is $254 billion.
Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.
It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.
We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today. Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.