Trade of the Day: Investors Bancorp (ISBC)

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October was another volatile month, as third-quarter earnings reports have been dictating the stock market’s day-to-day action. Even with the market’s ups and downs, though, the S&P 500 and Dow were both able to tack on more than 9% gains last month. And the month of November kicked off on the right foot yesterday, as the both the S&P 500 and Dow continued to climb higher, up more than 0.5%.

I don’t look for the market volatility to subside much this month. There are still plenty of factors that have the potential to drive the stock market higher or lower on any given day, including earnings announcements, global growth and the Federal Reserve. But with the market on a seemingly upward trajectory right now, it makes sense to pick up some shares of fundamentally strong and up-trending stocks, such as today’s recommendation.

Investors Bancorp, Inc. (ISBC) provides various banking products and services in the United States through its more than 130 full-service retail bank branches. The stock has a 52-week range of $10.45–$13.04, a market cap of $4.4 billion, and even has a nice dividend yield of 1.6%. ISBC shares have been on a strong bullish trend since January, and given the bank’s earnings announcement last Thursday, now is a good time to get on board.

Investors Bancorp reported third-quarter net income of $48.8 million, up 25% year-over-year. Earnings per share were $0.15, which beat analysts’ estimates by two pennies. Company management also declared a $0.05 per share cash dividend, which will be paid on Nov. 25 to shareholders of record on Nov. 10.

The bank also scores well in the Turner Analytics database. Investors Bancorp’s fundamental score is very good, at 73 out of 100, and its technical score is excellent, at 97 out of 100. The stock has significantly outperformed its Sector (Financials) and Industry (Savings and Loans) over the past three months, and institutional ownership is strong, at just over 75% of outstanding shares.

Trade of the Day: Investors Bancorp, Inc. (ISBC)

Like most stocks, Investors Bancorp sold off a bit in the August market sell-off, but did not move down nearly as much as the broader market. And ISBC shares have bounced back nearly 13% from the August lows. This stock may not have overly strong momentum, but it exhibits a good and steady pricing growth rate.

I recommend entering ISBC at $12.60 or better, and set your stop at $11.99.

Mike Turner and his team of software engineers developed Turner Analytics, a sophisticated software market and trade-timing system that provides unbiased, quantifiable recommendations on thousands of equities and rates, ranks and scores these equities from best to worst in an easy-to-use on-line tool for individual investors. He is also the editor of Signal Investor.

Most recently, Mike launched Quick Hit Trader. This trading service is based on weekly analysis of the 6,000+ stocks and ETFs in his proprietary Turner Analytics computer stock-rating system. Every Monday before the market open, Mike emails subscribers his three best trades for the week, including the buy, sell and target price.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2015/11/bank-trade-of-the-day-investors-bancorp-isbc-2/.

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