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Should You Buy the Regional Bank Stocks?

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  • (1:00) - Silicon Valley Bank Collapse: Should You Be Taking Advantage of Banks On Sale?
  • (9:45) - Should You Be Following The Large Investors?
  • (16:00) - The Impact of Savings Rate-chasing: Will Other Banks Suffer?
  • (24:30) - Will More Regulations Hurt or Help The Banking Industry?
  • (30:10) - Should You Be Considering Regional Banks Right Now?
  • (36:40) - Episode Roundup: SCHW, FRC, WAL, KRE, KWBR, IAT
  •             Podcast@Zacks.com

 

Welcome to Episode #352 of the Zacks Market Edge Podcast.

Every week, host and Zacks stock strategist, Tracey Ryniec, will be joined by guests to discuss the hottest investing topics in stocks, bonds and ETFs and how it impacts your life.

This week, Tracey is joined by Zacks Senior Stock Strategist, Kevin Cook, who also is the editor of the TAZR newsletter, to discuss what is going on with the banks and whether there is a buying opportunity in some of them.

Buying the KRE

On Mar 13, 2023, Kevin dove into the banks in the TAZR portfolio, buying the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE - Free Report) even though the banks were still selling off. The night before, the Federal Reserve, Treasury and FDIC had announced a program to make sure all the depositors at Signature Bank of NY and Silicon Valley Bank were made whole.

The KRE has plunged 28.5% in the last month. It’s now yielding 2.9%. KRE has an expense ratio of 0.35% and holds 143 bank stocks.

Is an ETF the way to go when investing in the banks?

Citadel Takes a Position in Western Alliance

Kevin Cook wasn’t the only one to dive in. Citadel’s Ken Griffin announced Citadel had taken a 5.3% position in Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL - Free Report) . This Phoenix-based bank has a market cap of $3.3 billion.

Western Alliance had plunged 60% in the last month. It is now yielding 5.5%. Should you follow Citadel into Western Alliance?

Charles Schwab and First Republic Bank

Prominent investor Ron Baron, of Baron Capital, also revealed on Monday, Mar 13, 2023, that he had added to his position in Charles Schwab Corp. (SCHW - Free Report) as the shares continued to sell off.

Schwab is down 29.5% in the last month. It is now yielding 1.5%.

Schwab is a mega-cap financial company, with a market cap of $103.6 billion. Is Schwab a deal?

First Republic Bank is at the epicenter of the bank sell-off as it’s headquartered in San Francisco. This private wealth management bank has a market cap of $7.4 billion.

Shares of First Republic Bank are down 58% in just the last 5 days. Is First Republic Bank just too volatile to take a chance on?

What Else do you Need to Know About the Regional Bank Stocks?   

Listen to this week’s podcast to find out.

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