Investors who’ve held bank stocks have been on a roller coaster since last month, especially with certain banks such as the Silicon Valley Bank (OTCMKTS:SIVBQ) and Silvergate Capital (NYSE:SI). However, big banks and their stocks haven’t been spared the pain either. Many top-tier banks having nearly a fifth of their market capitalization wiped out within two weeks; some have even collapsed, like Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS).
In all of these cases, investors faced the brunt of the collapse, whereas depositors were bailed out. Thus, I highly recommend doing your due diligence before investing in any financial stock and staying clear of potential risks, even if the Federal Reserve de facto guarantees these banks — because investors will not be covered.
With that in mind, here are three risky bank stocks to sell:
UWM Holdings (UWMC)
UWM Holdings (NYSE:UWMC) is a mortgage lending company you should avoid despite the momentum and optimism. First, rising interest rates have battered the demand for refinancing, and mortgage companies are feeling the pinch, including UWM. In Q4 2022, the company’s revenue was half that of the same period last year, and its loan production income fell by more than 70%. It also became a loss-making company in Q4, with $62.5 million in losses.
Of course, I would point out it does have $2.1 billion in available liquidity, enough to comfortably navigate the storm, and the revenue guidance of 13.5% growth in 2024 is reassuring. But with a recession on the horizon and the stock changing hands at a 30 times forward price-earnings multiple (worse than 99.02% of peers), this is one of the bank stocks to sell.
There is also a debt problem here. Its net debt-to-equity ratio sits at an unusually high 304.5%.
First National of Nebraska (FINN)
First National of Nebraska (OTCMKTS:FINN) is a holding company with its largest subsidiary being First National Bank of Omaha. While the bank does have good financials on paper, rated BBB stable by Fitch, the valuation on the stock market seems bloated.
There are also some alarming aspects here, as the provision for loan losses increasing by 187% to $136.2 million while profits fell by a quarter. Tier 1 capital also decreased by nearly 150 basis points. Furthermore, more in-depth information about this bank is unavailable on a quarterly basis, such as the amount of cash, short-term and long-term investments it has.
But as of its year-end 2022 report, it had $1.22 billion in cash, substantially down from $3.87 billion in 2021.
Silvergate Capital (SI)
Silvergate Capital is a falling knife that investors should avoid touching at all costs. The stock is essentially worthless as it represents a bank that plans to liquidate and shut down operations. There’s no hope for a long-term recovery here.
Perhaps SI stock could be used as a gambling tool due to the slight chance there may be a short squeeze. But even then, those gains would be fleeting, and it is a stock that will continue to bleed.
It could also be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange as it does not meet the requirements anymore. The company failed to file its 10-K annual form in time and received a noncompliance notice.
It’s a failure among bank stocks. Forget and never look back.
On the date of publication, Omor Ibne Ehsan did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
