The present global economic landscape, marked by a myriad of uncertainties like geopolitical tensions, inflation, rising interest rates and commodity prices, has led to a lot of volatility in the financial markets.
Profitable stock picking in such a scenario can be an arduous task, especially for novice investors. However, picking stocks after listening to top Wall Street voices can be a prudent way of going about one’s investment decisions.
In today’s Expert Spotlight Piece, we bring to you one such Wall Street Analyst whose picks in the financial sector have yielded returns more than the benchmark and the sector.
Based out of Portland, ME, Gerard Cassidy has a five-star rating on TipRanks. He is the Managing Director and Head of U.S. Bank Equity Strategy and Large Cap Bank Analyst at RBC Capital. Cassidy has been with RBC Capital, and its predecessor companies, for 33 years. He is credited with the creation of a popular analytical tool, Texas Ratio, which is used to determine if a bank would fail or not. He is an alumnus of the University of Maine.
The TipRanks Star Ranking is based on an expert’s success rate, the average return generated, and statistical significance that gives higher weightage to a higher number of transactions or recommendations made by an expert.
According to the above-mentioned metrics, Cassidy ranks first among the Financial Sector analysts on TipRanks. Impressively, the analyst has secured a ranking of 16 out of 7,938 analysts in the TipRanks universe.
Cassidy has a success rate of 72%, and he has generated an average return of 26.2% over the past year. Further, in terms of relative performance against the S&P 500 and the Finance sector, Cassidy’s picks have generated an alpha of 10.1% and 4.6%, respectively, over the same period.
Cassidy’s most profitable pick has been Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) between the period of April 8, 2020, and April 8, 2021, generating a return of 78.5%.
Now, let’s have a closer look and understand some of Cassidy’s top picks that have helped him generate such benchmark-beating returns.
The Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC)
Bank of America is a multinational investment bank and financial services holding company with interests in commercial banking, wealth management, and investment banking.
The financial major recently reported its first-quarter 2022 results, which exceeded both top and bottom-line expectations. Revenues for the quarter came in at $23.2 billion, up 1.8% year-over-year and above the consensus estimate of $23.11 billion. Earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter stood at $0.80, down 7% from the year-ago period. Yet, the figure surpassed the consensus estimate of $0.74 per share.
Recently, Cassidy reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $51, which implies upside potential of 31.1% from current levels.
Cassidy has rated the stock a total of 48 times. The success rate of his Buy ratings stands at 59%. He has generated an average profit of 9.5% on the stock.
Truist Financial Corporation (NYSE: TFC)
Charlotte, North Carolina-based financial services major Truist Financial offers consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage, and insurance products and services. With about $509 billion in assets, the bank operates 2,781 branches in 15 states and Washington, D.C.
The company recently reported mixed results for the first quarter of 2022, as its revenues missed but earnings surpassed estimates. Revenues for the quarter came in at $5.4 billion, which denotes a year-over-year decline of roughly 3%. Further, the figure missed the consensus estimate of $5.47 billion. EPS for the quarter stood at $1.23, up 4.2% from the prior year and above the consensus estimate of $1.09 per share.
Recently, Cassidy reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $70, which implies upside potential of 34.3% from current levels.
Cassidy has given TFC stock a total of 43 ratings. The success rate of his Buy ratings is 67%. Cassidy has generated an average profit of 24.5% on the stock.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C)
With over 200 million customers in 160 countries, the New York city-based Citigroup is one of the largest financial services corporations in the world.
Citi recently reported upbeat results for the first quarter of 2022. Revenues for the quarter came in at $19.2 billion, which denotes a decline of roughly 2.5% from the year-ago quarter. However, the figure comfortably surpassed the consensus estimate of $18.15 billion. EPS for the quarter stood at $2.02, down about 44.2% from the prior-year quarter. Yet, it surpassed the consensus estimate of $1.55 per share.
Recently, Cassidy reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $65, which implies upside potential of 23.5% from current levels.
The analyst has given the stock a total of 41 ratings. The success rate of his Buy ratings stands at 59%. Further, Cassidy has generated an average profit of 15.5% on this stock.
Key Takeaways
With an average upside of almost 30%, Cassidy’s picks in the financial sector can be considered by investors. Further, the rising interest regime is also likely to benefit financial stocks in the future, which makes a compelling case for these stocks.
To make the process of investment decision making easier in these uncertain times, the TipRanks Expert Center brings together the opinions and transaction activities of the world’s top financial experts, helping investors in their investment journey.
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