After rising 67% in the past 52-weeks, it is understandable that the price targets for First Financial Bankshares (FFIN) are slightly under the bank's current market price of $57.69 per share. But, the premium paid for these shares appear to be warranted.
First Financial is one of the fastest growing regional banks in Texas (though all appear to be very fast growing) but it is one that has a very unique strategy that I believe gives the bank a competitive advantage that isn't found in most of the its regional peers.
I'm timid of the current market valuation of FFIN because it is getting a premium well above the industry average but, the bank is setting up for long-term growth and isn't showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. With that said, below I have outlined why I like First Financial's strategy and financial position, followed by a review of the company's current valuation.
Strategy
A lot of times we see a growing regional bank increase deposit share and assets by purchasing other regionals in an area where they are weak and need more exposure. This makes sense for obvious reasons but other than increased visibility and access to the local markets, investors rarely understand why that particular location was chosen for growth over any of the other areas the bank occupies. With First Financial, this is absolutely not an issue and, to be honest, I'm extremely surprised that any bank in Texas has been able to dominate any area as much as FFIN has.
10 Best Life Sciences Stocks To Invest In 2015: Spectra Energy Partners LP(SEP)
Spectra Energy Partners, LP operates as an investment arm of Spectra Energy Corp. Spectra Energy Partners, LP, through its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of natural gas through interstate pipeline systems, and the storage of natural gas in underground facilities in the United States. As of December 31, 2007, it owned and operated 100% of the approximately 1,400-mile East Tennessee interstate natural gas transportation system that extends from central Tennessee eastward into southwest Virginia and northern North Carolina, and southward into northern Georgia; and a liquefied natural gas storage facility in Kingsport, Tennessee with working gas storage capacity of approximately 1.1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) and re-gasification capability of 150 million cubic feet per day. The company also owned a 24.5% interest in the approximate 700-mile Gulfstream interstate natural gas transportation system, which extends from Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama across the Gulf of Mexico and into Florida; a 50% interest in Market Hub, which owns and operates 2 salt cavern natural gas storage facilities, the Egan storage facility with gas capacity of approximately 20 Bcf, and the Moss Bluff storage facility with working gas capacity of 15 Bcf. The company transports and stores natural gas for local gas distribution companies, municipal utilities, interstate and intrastate pipelines, direct industrial users, electric power generators, marketers, and producers. Spectra Energy Partners (DE) GP, LP, operates as the general partner to Spectra Energy Partners, LP. The company is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Calling all cash flows
When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Spectra Energy Partners (NYSE: SEP ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below. - [By Seth Jayson]
Spectra Energy Partners (NYSE: SEP ) reported earnings on May 3. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q1), Spectra Energy Partners met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks For 2014: Constellation Energy Partners LLC (CEP)
Constellation Energy Partners LLC (CEP) is engaged on the acquisition, development and production of onshore oils and natural gas properties in the United States. All of the Company's proved reserves are located in the Black Warrior Basin in Alabama, the Cherokee Basin in Kansas and Oklahoma, the Woodford Shale in the Arkoma Basin in Oklahoma and the Central Kansas Uplift in Kansas and Nebraska. The Company operates its oil and natural gases properties as one business segment: the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's total estimated proved reserves were approximately 201.3 billions of cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), approximately 76% of which were classified as proved developed, and 97% of which are natural gas and 3% of which are oil. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was the operator of approximately 88% of the 2,785 net wells in which the Company owned an interest. In March 2013, it announced sale of its Robinson's Bend Field assets, located in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.
Black Warrior Basin
The Black Warrior Basin is a coalbed methane basins in the country. The multi-seam vertical wells in the basin range from 500 to 3,700 feet deep, with coal seams averaging a total of 25 to 30 feet of net pay per well. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned a 100% working interest (an approximate 75% average net revenue interest) in its wells in the Black Warrior Basin, where the Company had 507 producing natural gas wells. The Black Warrior Basin is located in western Tuscaloosa County and Pickens County, Alabama, and encompasses a surface area of approximately 109 square miles. The field has been developed on 80-acre spacing. As of December 31, 2011, the Company was developing its properties in the field on both 40- and 80-acre spacing. The field has seven compressor stations with 800-1,200 horsepower compressors, approximately 170 miles of gas gathering lines (wells to header) and approximately 25 miles of trans! portation lines (header to compressor). In addition, there are approximately 152 miles of water gathering pipes and 28 miles of water transportation pipes. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's estimated proved reserves in the Black Warrior Basin were approximately 84.9 billions of cubic feet equivalent, approximately 88% of which were classified as proved developed, and all of which are natural gas.
Cherokee Basin
The Cherokee Basin is located in the Mid-Continent region in southern Kansas, northern Oklahoma, and western Missouri. It covers approximately 26,500 square miles. The production is natural gas produced from coals and shales. There are multiple producing coal zones in the Cherokee Basin, including the Rowe, Riverton, Weir-Pitt, and Dawson zones. In addition, there are other productive shale zones, as well as conventional sandstone and limestone potential, which can add natural gas and oil production. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned approximately 2,261 net producing wells in the Cherokee Basin. The Company operates in excess of 20 booster compressors and stations to gets its natural gas to sales points owned by ONEOK Gas Transportation, L.L.C., Scissortail Energy, LLC, Enogex Gas Gathering & Processing, LLC, Enogex Inc., and Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc. The Company operates a substantial portion of its production in the Cherokee Basin. The Company also own a 50% working interest in wells operated by Bullseye Operating, L.L.C. (Bullseye) and a 50% interest in Bullseye itself. Bullseye operates approximately 500 gross wells in Washington and Nowata Counties in Oklahoma and sells its production through the Cotton Valley producers cooperative, Cotton Valley Compression, L.L.C. The Company's gross working interest in its Cherokee Basin properties is approximately 80%, with its average gross working interest in its operated properties being approximately 100% and its average gross working interest in its non-operated Cherokee Basin properties being a! pproximat! ely 50%. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's estimated proved reserves in the Cherokee Basin were approximately 110.7 billions of cubic feet equivalent, approximately 66% of which were classified as proved developed, and 95% of which were natural gas and 5% of which were oil.
Woodford Shale
The Woodford Shale is located in the Arkoma Basin in southern Oklahoma. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 82 well bores, or approximately 9 net producing wells, located in Coal and Hughes counties. This area is gas-rich and is characterized by multiple productive zones. The production of natural gas in the Woodford Shale comes from shale rock that has been stimulated through fracturing jobs after a horizontal well has been drilled. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's 82 wells had an average gross working interest of 11.3% and an average net revenue interest of 9.1%. Approximately 90% of the wells are operated by affiliates of Devon Energy Corporation (Devon) and Newfield Exploration Mid-Continent, Inc. (Newfield), with the remaining wells operated by three additional companies. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's estimated proved reserves in the Woodford Shale were approximately 5.2 billions of cubic feet equivalent.
Central Kansas Uplift
The Central Kansas Uplift is an oil prone region located in Kansas and southern Nebraska. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had a gross acreage position of 4,345 acres, or approximately 1,050 net acres and the Company owned 39 gross wells, or approximately 8 net producing wells. Murfin Drilling Company, Inc., an oil producer in Kansas, operates all of the Company's wells in this region. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the average gross working interest in the wells is approximately 21% and the average net revenue interest is approximately 17%. As of December 31, 2011, the Company's proved reserves in the Central Kansas Uplift were approximately 0.5 billions of cubic feet equivalent, approximately 88%! of which! were classified as proved developed and all of which were oil.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Smith]
The bulk of these awards came in the form of a single multiple-award, task-order contract to be shared among several energy companies:
Constellation Energy Partners LLC's (NYSEMKT: CEP ) Constellation NewEnergy subsidiary Privately held ECC Renewables LLC Enel Green Power North America, a subsidiary of Italy's Enel SpA LTC Federal LLC Siemens' (NYSE: SI ) Government Technologies unitThese five firms are now authorized to bid for individual task orders under an umbrella contract for the procurement of renewable and alternative energy from facilities that are designed, financed, constructed, operated and maintained by private companies on private land under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense. The ceiling value on this contract is $7 billion, thus accounting for 84% of the value of all Pentagon contracts awarded yesterday.
Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks For 2014: Uranium Resources Inc.(URRE)
Uranium Resources, Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and mining of uranium properties, using the in situ recovery or solution mining process. It owns developed and undeveloped uranium properties in South Texas; and undeveloped uranium properties in New Mexico. The company?s primary customers include utilities who utilize nuclear power to generate electricity. Uranium Resources, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is based in Lewisville, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By John Udovich]
Small cap nuclear fuel stock USEC Inc (NYSE: USU) is up some 300% this week���meaning its worth taking a closer look at the company along with the performance potential uranium or nuclear stock peers Uranium Resources, Inc (NASDAQ: URRE), Denison Mines Corp (NYSEMKT: DNN), Ur-Energy Inc (NYSEMKT: URG) and Uranerz Energy Corp (NYSEMKT: URZ).
- [By James E. Brumley]
You know, were it just Uranium Resources, Inc. (NASDAQ:URRE) or just Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT:URG) or just Uranerz Energy Corp. (NYSEMKT:URZ) making a decided bullish move, I might be able to dismiss it. Similarly, if URZ had only been moving higher for one or two days (or only URG or only URRE), it might be easy to not be impressed. Neither of those situations has been the actual case, however. All three stocks have been moving upward for several days now, quite a bit, on noticeably higher volume. There's something "going on", as it were, and if prior group-wide movements are any clue, it's the kind of move worth tapping into.
Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks For 2014: AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB)
AvalonBay Communities, Inc. engages in the development, redevelopment, acquisition, ownership, and operation of multifamily communities in the United States. As of January 31, 2009, the company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 164 operating apartment communities comprising 45,728 apartment homes in 10 states and the District of Columbia. It also held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 14 communities under construction, as well as held rights to develop an additional 27 communities. The company?s markets are located in New England, the New York/New Jersey metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Pacific Northwest, and the Northern and Southern California regions of the United States. AvalonBay Communities has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust and would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Arlington, Virginia.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Jonas Elmerraji]
A buoyant housing market and record low interest rates have provided a windfall for investors in AvalonBay Communities (AVB) -- shares of the $20.5 billion housing REIT have rallied more than 31% since the start of January. Many income investors go gung-ho over conventional commercial REITs, while ignoring the housing REITs; that's a big mistake. AVB is one of the best-run residential real estate investment trusts, with interests in more than 80,000 units spread across some 250 apartment communities.
It's true that housing REITs don't have many of the same protections from tenants that commercial landlord REITs do. But that hasn't stopped AVB from earning meaningful returns. The firm focuses its portfolio on affluent metro areas like New York and San Francisco, and as a result, it has been able to maintain high occupancy rates for its apartment homes.
One of AVB's biggest benefits is its pipeline. Instead of acquiring existing apartments, the firm holds development rights to approximately 45 communities as of its most recent financial filings. That hands-on strategy means that AVB is able to collect bigger long-term returns on investment than a mere owner-operator could.
Right now, AvalonBay pays out a 3% dividend yield -- if the Fed follows the Bank of Japan's lead with another round of QE, that high dividend yield could make AVB one of the bigger beneficiaries of new money pouring into stocks.
Must Read: 10 Stocks Billionaire John Paulson Loves in 2014
- [By Amanda Alix]
With 93% of the multifamily units breaking ground in the first quarter slated for rental, apartment REITs like AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB ) , Essex Property Trust Inc. (NYSE: ESS ) and Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR ) are looking like a great way to invest in the new "renter nation".
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