Shares of First Commonwealth Financial Corp. of Indiana, Pa., gained 4.3% on Monday after Ferris, Baker Watts Inc. declared them a "buy," citing their 5.03% dividend yield.
"Given the recent drop in the price," analyst Matthew C. Schultheis wrote, "we believe that income-oriented investors should take advantage of the relatively high dividend yield and stable dividend stream."
Shares of Synovus Financial Corp. of Columbus, Ga., jumped 1.4% after Nancy A. Bush of NAB Research LLC in Annandale, N.J., wrote that its earnings are likely to be "more healthy and more predictable" next year. She raised her rating to "buy," from "hold."
A rising net interest margin and a focus on retail banking growth bode well for the $26.7 billion-asset company next year, Ms. Bush said in an interview. She raised her 2005 earnings estimate by 3 cents, to $1.65 a share, and her 2006 estimate by 7 cents, to $1.88; the average analyst estimate is $1.64 for this year and $1.85 for next, according to Thomson Financial.
Barclays PLC gained 0.05% in U.S. trading Monday. The London financial company said it had hired a former Washington Mutual Inc. executive, Deanna Oppenheimer, as the chief operating officer of its U.K. banking unit.
Ms. Oppenheimer, 47, was the president of Wamu's retail banking group from 1995 until she resigned in March. She was credited with leading a successful consumer banking expansion that combined branch design, customer-service focus, and rapid branch building.
Also Monday, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations hit a record $44.4 billion in the second quarter, up 25% from a year earlier and up 41% from the first quarter.
Capital flows into the commercial and multifamily real estate markets remain strong, said the MBA's chief economist, Douglas G. Duncan, in a news release -- "and so far no significant obstacles to that flow have appeared, whether in the form of higher interest rates, declining loan performance, or declining property performance."
The American Banker index of 225 banking stocks rose 1.79% on Monday, and the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.6%.
Among the big gainers were National Penn Bancshares Inc. of Boyertown, Pa., up 3.9%, and Westbanco Inc. of Wheeling, W.Va., up 3.8%.
Decliners included First Regional Bancorp of Century City, Calif., off 1.8%; Private Bancorp Inc. of Chicago, off 1.4%; and New Century Financial Corp. of Irvine, Calif., off 1.3%.
