10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now

Almost by stealth, there's a group of stocks that have put up strong numbers in November and for the year -- even while many people profess to, well, hate them. We're talking banks.

Big banks are doing splendidly. Regional banks are doing even better. If interest rates start to rise -- a question of when, not if -- bank and financial services stocks should do even better. Plus, the regional banks are lovely takeover candidates.

In other words, if banks stocks do well in the coming months, they will give support to the stock market rally.

The winners so far include JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), which is the top performer in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, up 11.5 percent for the month.

Best Regional Bank Stocks To Buy Right Now: Glacier Media Inc (GLMFF.PK)

Glacier Media Inc. (Glacier) is an information communications company focused on the provision of information and related services through print and digital media. Glacier has two segments: the newspaper and trade information markets and the business and professional information markets. The operations in the newspaper and trade information group include the Western Producer Publications and Farm Business Communications agricultural information group, Business In Vancouver Media Group, the JuneWarren-Nickle�� Energy Group, the Business Information Group, and the Glacier Newspaper Group. Its operations in the business and professional information group include Specialty Technical Publishers, CD-Pharma, Eco Log and a joint venture interest in Fundata. In November 2011, the Company acquired a 50% interest in InfoMine Inc. In November 2011, the Company acquired Canada�� Outdoor Shows Limited. In December 2011, it acquired Postmedia Network Inc.'s community newspapers in British Columbia. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Mike Arnold]

  Shares of Glacier Media (GLMFF.PK)(GVC.TO) ("Glacier" or "the company") are cold product in this market of stocks, trading at decade lows after a summer sell-off. Famed value investor Walter Schloss preferred buying stocks not at 52-week lows, but at multi-year lows. If Mr. Schloss were here with us today, I suspect he'd be taking a look at Glacier shares.

10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Network Engines Inc(NEI)

Network Engines, Inc. designs and manufactures application platforms and appliance solutions on which software applications are applied for enterprise and telephony information technology networks. The company?s application platforms are pre-configured server-based network infrastructure devices designed to deliver specific software application functionality, and enhance the integration, manageability, and security of that software application in an end user?s network. It also offers platform management software tools and support services related to solution design, systems integration, application management, global logistics, and support and maintenance programs. The company markets its application platform solutions and services to original equipment manufacturers and independent software vendors in the United States and internationally. Network Engines, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By CRWE]

  NEI (Nasdaq:NEI), a leading provider of server-based application platforms, deployment solutions and lifecycle support services for software technology developers and OEMs worldwide, announced today that it has signed a definitive merger agreement with UNICOM Systems, Inc. (“UNICOM”) and a new UNICOM subsidiary under which UNICOM, a global information technology company and part of the UNICOM group of companies, will acquire NEI for $1.45 per common share in cash.

10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Craft Brew Alliance Inc (BREW)

Craft Brew Alliance, Inc., incorporated on May 4, 1981, is an independent craft brewer. The Company is engaged in brewing, marketing and selling of craft beers in the United States. The Company operates two segments: Beer related operations and Pubs and Other. Beer related operations include the brewing and sale of craft beers from its five breweries. Pubs and Other operations primarily include its five pubs, four, of which are located adjacent to its breweries. The Company brews its Widmer Brothers, Redhook and Kona beers in each of its three mainland production breweries, including New Hampshire Brewery, Oregon Brewery and Washington Brewery. The Company also owns and operates a small manual style brewery, primarily used for small batch production at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. The Company�� beer portfolio is consisted of the Widmer Brothers, Redhook and Kona brand families. On May 2, 2011, the Company sold 42% interest in Fulton Street Brewery, LLC.

The Company�� Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen is a golden, cloudy wheat beer with a pronounced citrus aroma and flavor. This beer is usually served with a lemon slice. Its Drifter Pale Ale is brewed with generous amounts of summit hops. It also includes Drop Top Amber Ale and Rotator India Pale Ale. Initial beers in the series 924 series include the Nelson Imperial IPA and the Pitch Black IPA, which is a Pacific Northwest twist on a traditional IPA, brewed in the style of a Cascadian Dark. Beers in this brand are offered as a draft product and as a four pack for bottles. Widmer Brothers beers include Brothers��Reserve and Alchemy Project. Widmer Brothers seasonal beers are Citra Blonde, Okto, Brrr and W series.

The Redhook family of beers is consisted of sessionable (lower alcohol by volume) and approachable beers. Its Long Hammer IPA is the beer within the brand family and is English pub-style bitter ale with a bold hop aroma and profile that is not overpoweringly bitter. Its

Redhook Pilsner is a crisp, easy-! drinking, golden lager that is modeled after beers originally brewed in Plzen, Czechoslovakia. Redhook ESB is rich, full-bodied amber ale with a smooth flavor profile featuring toasted malts and a pleasant finishing sweetness. Its Copperhook Ale is copper-colored ale with caramel notes and a clean refreshing finish. The Company�� Blueline Series brand is offering from the Redhook brand family for the West Coast beer drinker. These beers are hand crafted by the brewers and are available at its Washington Brewery pub, as well as at select restaurants, bottle shops and public houses in the Seattle, Washington area. Its Brewery Backyard Series is produced at its New Hampshire brewery as a draft product available at the brewery�� pub and at select local establishments. Redhook seasonal beers include Nut Brown Ale, Winterhook Winter Ale and Wit.

The Company�� Kona Beers brand family is consisted of beers that deliver the essence of the Hawaiian Islands that is Always Aloha. The Company�� Longboard Island Lager is a traditionally brewed lager with a delicate, slightly spicy hop aroma that is complimented by a fresh, malt-forward flavor and a smooth, refreshing finish. Its Fire Rock Pale Ale is a crisp, Hawaiian Style pale ale with pronounced citrus and floral hop aromas and flavors that are backed up by a generous malt profile.

Kona seasonal beers include Koko Brown Ale, American brown ale with a deep amber color and rich mahogany hues. This ale has a smoky, roasted nut aroma and flavor, with a coconut twist. Koko Brown Ale is Kona�� spring seasonal. Its Pipeline Porter is smooth and dark, with a roasty aroma and earthy flavor. This ale is brewed with fresh 100% Kona coffee. Its Wailua Wheat is golden, sun-colored ale with a bright, citrusy flavor. This beer is brewed with a touch of tropical passion fruit to impart a slightly tart and crisp finish. Kona offers two variety packs: Island Hopper variety 12-packs and Big Kahuna variety 24-packs. Both packages include the brewe! ry�� Lo! ngboard Island Lager along with Fire Rock Pale Ale and then two of its Aloha series seasonal offerings: Koko Brown, Wailua Wheat and Pipeline Porter.

The Company competes with Heineken, Corona Extra and Guinness.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Chris Katje]

  Publicly traded Craft Brew Alliance (BREW) is the owner of three key craft beer brands. The company, through two mergers, owns the brands Redhook, Widmer, and Kona. One of those brands (Redhook) has a partnership coming with Buffalo Wild Wings that could create coverage of the company's stock and blow revenue estimates out of the water.

10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: M/I Homes Inc. (MHO)

M/I Homes, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, primarily operates as a builder of single-family homes in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Homebuilding and Financial Services. The Homebuilding segment designs, constructs, markets, and sells single-family homes, attached townhomes, and condominiums to first-time, move-up, empty-nester, and luxury buyers in the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and southern regions. It markets its finished homes through company-employed sales consultants under the M/I Homes, Showcase Homes, and TriStone Homes trade names. This segment also purchases undeveloped land to develop into finished lots for the construction of single-family homes and for sale to others. As of December 31, 2011, it had 3,041 developed lots and 625 lots under development in inventory, as well as owned raw land expected to be developed into approximately 3,491 lots. The Financial Services segment is involved in originating and selling mortgages, and colle cting fees for title insurance and closing services. This segment serves as a title insurance agent by providing title insurance policies, and examination and closing services to purchasers of its homes. M/I Homes, Inc. was founded in 1973 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Oxen Group]

  According to home construction news site Builderonline.com, MDC ranks 11th in terms of total number of home closings for the year 2012. Out of the top 10 competitors, MDC has the lowest PEG value, followed by Ryland Group (RYL) and Meritage Homes (MTH) with 0.23 and 0.6, respectively. The current pe ratio is lowest for the company followed by Ryland Group with 7.4 and Meritage Homes (MHO) with 11. In terms of forward pe, the top ten competitors have values in the 10-14 range. Putting numbers in perspective, relative to its competitors we believe that MDC presents a better value for investors looking to take advantage of the real estate market rebound.

• [By George Putnam, Editor, New Generation Research, Inc.]

  Steve Halpern: You have an exception to that rule, you look at a smaller home builder, M/I Homes (MHO), and you like that. Could you tell us why.

• [By James E. Brumley]

  Given the bad news regarding new-home sales unveiled� this morning, it's no real surprise that homebuilder stocks like KB Home (NYSE:KBH) and M/I Homes Inc. (NYSE:MHO) are struggling. KBH is down 2.8% as of the last look, while MHO shares are off 4.1%. None of the major homebuilder names are underwater as much as Meritage Homes Corp. (NYSE:MTH) is today, though, with its 8.6% drubbing. Already struggling, today's stumble from MTH may well jump-start a more serious selloff that the bulls have thus far been able to stave off.

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Joe Raedle/Getty Images U.S. homebuilders' confidence in the housing market surged this month to the highest level since January, reflecting a pickup in sales of new homes and heightened expectations for sales the second half of the year. The brighter sales outlook suggests home construction could pick up in coming months after a sluggish start this year. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index released Wednesday rose this month to 53, up four points from a revised reading of 49 in June. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good, rather than poor. The latest reading is the first above 50 since January, when it was 56. Builders' view of current sales conditions for single-family homes, their outlook for sales over the next six months and traffic by prospective buyers each increased since June. Higher mortgage rates and the bad weather weighed on home sales in late 2013 and early this year. Harsh winter weather also contributed to a sluggish start to this year's spring home-selling season. But sales of new homes have picked up in recent months. New home sales jumped 18.6 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000, the highest level in six years. That followed a 3.7 percent increase in April. The gains came after declines in February and March. Even with the big overall gain, sales of new homes are still running at just about half the pace of a healthy real estate market. Still, the recent pickup in sales suggests that the housing recovery may be regaining its footing after slowing earlier this year. Economists say there is significant pent-up demand for homes as many potential buyers put off purchases over the past few years because of concerns about the economy. Solid job gains this year also bode well for housing. Employers added 288,000 jobs last month, the fifth straight month of gains above 200,000. The national unemployment rate has slid to 6.1 percent, a

10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Pazoo Inc (PZOO)

Pazoo, Inc., formerly IUCSS, Inc., incorporated on November 16, 2010, is a development-stage company. The Company is an online retailer and distributer of nutritional foods/supplements, wellness goods, and fitness apparel.

As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� source of revenue was through www.pazoo.com. The Company offers a range of products through various catalogs, such as health and beauty, vitamins and supplements, apparel, accessories, food and beverages, fitness and sports equipments, gifts, videos and books, and pet wellness.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Bryan Murphy]

  For those traders who were lucky and smart enough to be in an Arotech Corporation (NASDAQ:ARTX) before today, then congratulations - you're up at least 38% on your position. Now it's time to get out. Conversely, if you're looking for a new name to get into (or perhaps looking for a place to park your ARTX proceeds), then you may want to consider Pazoo Inc. (OTCBB:PZOO)... a tiny online retailer of health and fitness goods. PZOO has dropped several tell-tale hints that more upside is on the way.

10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: CyberOptics Corporation (CYBE)

CyberOptics Corporation supplies optical process control sensors and inspection systems to control the manufacturing process and ensure the quality of electronic circuit boards worldwide. The company also manufactures and sells sensors that assist with yield enhancement during semiconductor fabrication. Its products include surface mount technology (SMT) electronic assembly alignment sensors, including LaserAlign sensor that is incorporated into component placement machines used in the SMT production lines; BoardAlign camera, which identifies fiducial markings on a circuit board and aligns the board in the component placement machine prior to component placement; and InPrinter inspection camera that identifies fiducial markings on a circuit board to ensure accurate board registration prior to placement of solder paste. The company also offers photovoltaic and fuel cell alignment sensors, such as solar wafer alignment cameras for alignment measurements; and embedded process verification inspection technology products and solder paste inspection sensors. In addition, it provides SMT stand-alone inspection system products, which include solder paste inspection and automated optical inspection products; and WaferSense sensors that provide measurements of critical factors in the semiconductor fabrication process, as well as wafer mapping and alignment sensors, frame grabber products, and machine vision subsystems. The company sells its products to the manufacturers of electronic circuit board assembly equipment, manufacturers of semiconductor DRAM memory, and semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers, as well as end-user electronic assembly manufacturers, including original design manufacturers and electronic manufacturing service providers. CyberOptics Corporation markets its products through independent representatives and distributors. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Emerson]

  I even recorded a tax loss carry-forward on my original purchase of CAMT for which I had paid $2.05 per share. It seems that I was a slow learner in regard to the necessity of selling AOI companies long before they entered a cyclical trough in their earnings. Happily, I have since remedied that problem. For informational purposes I must disclose that in the spring, I repurchased shares of CAMT and made a larger purchase in a Cyberoptics (CYBE) another AOI company, which was near a multiyear low at the time.

10 Best Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc (ENTA)

Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Inc., incorporated on July 25, 1995, is a research and development-focused biotechnology company. The Company uses its chemistry-driven approach and drug discovery capabilities to create small molecule drugs in the infectious disease field. The Company is discovering and developing novel inhibitors designed for use against the hepatitis C virus (HCV). These inhibitors include members of the direct acting antiviral (DAA) inhibitor classes-protease (partnered with AbbVie, the former research-based pharmaceutical business of Abbott Laboratories), NS5A (partnered with Novartis) and nucleotide polymerase, as well as a host targeted antiviral (HTA) inhibitor class targeted against cyclophilin. ABT-450, discovered through its collaboration with AbbVie, is a protease inhibitor that has demonstrated in vitro potency against known resistant HCV mutants.

In Phase I studies, ABT-450 co-administered with ritonavir, a commonly used boosting agent to increase the blood concentrations of many protease inhibitors, was shown to be safe and well tolerated. Co-administration of ABT-450 with ritonavir, which it refers to together as ABT-450/r, has enabled once-daily dosing of ABT-450. Phase II studies have demonstrated the efficacy of ABT-450/r in patients with chronic HCV, and other interferon-free Phase II studies of ABT-450-containing regimens continue. AbbVie is developing a next-generation protease inhibitor discovered within the Enanta-AbbVie collaboration. EDP-239 is the NS5A inhibitor discovered by the Company. The Company also has a program to develop nucleotide inhibitors to HCV NS5B polymerase, which is another DAA mechanism considered to have a barrier to resistance. The Company�� Bicyclolide antibiotic product candidate is EDP-788, which it is developing for use as an intravenous drug in the hospital setting and for oral dosing in the home setting. EDP-788 is a prodrug, which means that it is inactive until it is converted in the body into an active compound. EDP-788 is! a water-soluble molecule which, when administered in preclinical models, is cleanly and rapidly converted into the active compound.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By George Budwell]

  Normally, such strong efficacy results would be hailed as a major achievement. However, these results are actually less impressive than those by competing drug's developed by AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV  ) , Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENTA  ) and Gilead. Bristol-Myers' therapy also has a treatment duration double that of Gilead's drug Sovaldi for genotype 1 patients. So, while these results are impressive in their own right, the therapy's commercial prospects may be limited due to the presence of superior competitors in the market.�

• [By Sean Williams]

  The next big thing in treating hepatitis-C
  The other currently experimental therapy very likely to make it onto the FDA's desk before the midpoint of 2014 is AbbVie's (NYSE: ABBV  ) direct-acting antiviral combo drug. In similar fashion to Sovaldi, this DAA-combo therapy, which includes ABT-450 from Enanta Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ENTA  ) , is running six confirmatory late-stage trials on various genotypes. There are, however, two primary differences between AbbVie's DAA-combo therapy and Sovaldi.

• [By James Fink]

  And lastly I'll go into healthcare, which is kind of a growth cyclical type name. It's partially defensive, partially growth. I think the more growth-oriented section of healthcare would be biotech, and right now, a very promising biotech stock is Enanta Pharmaceuticals. That's a NASDAQ stock; ticker symbol (ENTA).