Stock Picking Pool: The Best Financial Stocks for May 2023

In the past 12 months to May 11, 2023, although the financial sector is still in decline overall, the stocks of $Waterdrop Inc.(WDH)$ $UniCredito Spa(UNCFF)$ and $First Citizens BancShares Inc (DE)(FCNCP)$ . Top the tracking returns reached 168%, 127% and 96% respectively.

The $Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLF)$ which represents financial stocks, fell 12% between March 8 and March 17 alone, as news of the collapse of $Signature Bank(SBNY)$ and $SVB Financial Group(SIVBQ)$ in March sparked an earthquake in the financial sector.

The index is still down 4% over the past 12 months, compared with a 3% gain for the $ProShares Ultra Russell2000(UWM)$ over the same period. Here are the most valuable, fastest-growing and best-moving financial stocks over the past 12 months that investors can focus on in May.

Most Valuable Financial Stocks

Here are the financial stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, low P/E ratios indicate that investors are paying less for each dollar of profit.

• $Jackson Financial Inc(JXN)$ is a financial holding company that provides annuities to retail investors throughout the United States, with subsidiaries including Jackson National Life Insurance Company, Jackson National Life Insurance Company of New York, and PPM America. The earnings report showed that the company missed expectations for revenue and earnings per share (EPS) in its most recent quarter. Still, Jackson Financial stock has gained about 3% over the past year.

• $Aimia, Inc.(AIMFF)$ is a Canadian investment holding company that makes long-term investments in public and private companies. The company also operates an investment advisory business. The company has lost nearly 20% of its market value over the past year amid the forced ouster of the chairman of the board in April 2023 and shareholder pushback over voting transparency.

• $Ambac(AMBC)$ is a financial services holding company that operates a distribution and underwriting platform for specialty property and casualty insurance. The company posted a net loss in its most recent quarter as it said it was in talks with U.S. regulators on "revised operating and capital frameworks."

Fastest growing financial stocks

Here are the top financial stocks selected based on a growth model that scores companies with a 50/50 weighting based on their most recent quarterly percentage year-over-year revenue growth and their most recent quarter's year-over-year earnings per share (EPS) growth.

Both sales and profitability are critical to a company's success. Therefore, ranking companies on only one growth metric makes the ranking vulnerable to accounting anomalies in the quarter (such as changes in the tax code or restructuring costs), potentially making one or the other number less representative of the business as a whole. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of more than 1000% were excluded as outliers.

• $New York Community(NYCB)$ is the parent company of Flagstar Bank, a regional bank in the Northeast and Midwest of the United States. The company's earnings per share surged in its most recent quarter, largely due to the company's acquisition of Signature Bank's assets following its collapse earlier this year. However, management noted that even without the acquisition, New York Community Bancorp would have seen solid earnings growth.

• $UniCredito Spa(UNCFF)$ is an Italian international banking group providing mortgage lending, life insurance, consumer credit, investment banking, asset management and related services worldwide. The bank just reported its best-ever first-quarter results, with strong momentum across all business lines driving earnings growth.

• $MidCap Financial Investment Corp(MFIC)$ A closed-end, non-diversified management investment firm that invests primarily in middle market companies through mezzanine and senior secured loans. The company attributed the growth in the latest quarter to a higher base rate, strong fee and prepaid revenue, and a new fee structure.

Financial stocks with the most momentum

Here are the financial stocks with the highest total returns over the past 12 months

• $Waterdrop Inc.(WDH)$ is a Chinese insurtech platform that offers a variety of medical and insurance products online. Shares of the company soared in late 2022 on rumors that the company had launched an insurance product against breast cancer recurrence.

• $UniCredito Spa(UNCFF)$ See company profile above.

• $First Citizens BancShares(FCNCA)$ : First Citizens BancShares is the holding company for First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co., a personal and commercial bank with more than $200 billion in assets. In March 2023, First Citizens acquired a significant portion of Silicon Valley Bank following its collapse.