Obama's re-election makes JPMorgan a buy
This leading bank sells below book value and at 7 times expected earnings.
By Mark Skousen, Hedge Fund Trader Alert
Big winners under a second Obama administration are financial stocks. In the past two years, Federal Reserve policy has been a gift to the big banks, which have recovered sharply.
And Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has made it clear that the Fed's zero interest rate policy will continue indefinitely until the economy gets back to normal. That's good news for JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the largest banking institution in the United States since 2011.
The bank still is selling below its book value of $50 a share, but it has shown dramatic improvement.
With profit margins exceeding 21%, earnings jumped 34% to $18 billion in the most recent year. And at a time when other big banks have struggled, JPMorgan's revenues rose 5% to $88 billion.
CEO Jamie Dimon is a banker's banker, and is well respected. Warren Buffett wants him to replace Tim Geithner as U.S. Treasury Secretary. Dimon has been critical of Dodd-Frank and other overt regulations of the financial system, and with good reason.
But if anyone has the inside track on how to manipulate the system, it's Dimon. As J.P. Morgan himself once said, "You can't pick cherries with your back to the tree."
How will the fiscal cliff affect banking stocks? If lawmakers do nothing, undoubtedly financial stocks will suffer. But if Congress takes a moderate approach -- extending most tax cuts and mortgage interest deductions through 2012 -- the impact on banking and financials will be positive.
JP Morgan Chase has risen nicely this year, but still looks cheap, since it is selling below book and at only seven times expected earnings in 2013. We're adding JPMorgan Chase to our buy list.
More from TheStockAdvisors.com
MORE ON MSN MONEY
DATA PROVIDERS
Copyright © 2013 Microsoft. All rights reserved.
Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.
Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.
Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.
LATEST POSTS
Costco and Tiffany to report earnings. Consumer confidence index for May to be released. Carnival slashes prices to attract customers after a string of accidents. Pending home sales for April are due.
FIDELITY VIEWPOINTS
- How to sell covered calls - Fidelity Investments
- Savvy year-end tax moves to consider now - Fidelity Investments
- Seven ways to prepare for tax changes
- Five reasons an annual review is crucial - Fidelity Investments
- Take a look at mid caps now - Fidelity Investments
- State of the sector: Health care - Fidelity Investments
VIDEO ON MSN MONEY
ABOUT
Top Stocks provides analysis about the most noteworthy stocks in the market each day, combining some of the best content from around the MSN Money site and the rest of the Web.
Contributors include professional investors and journalists affiliated with MSN Money.
Follow us on Twitter @topstocksmsn.
