Top Financial Companies To Invest In Right Now

I have been following the markets (as an institutional investor and as an individual) for more than two decades, and there is one observation or pattern that is consistently repeated: When a sector or a market is fully valued or over-valued, you will see institutional exit strategies employed. Put differently, the "smart" money sells into an over-valued market to realize the highest potential profits.

As well, you will notice that when the low hanging growth fruit (we'll call this organic growth) has been picked, merger activity will increase in order to grow further. This can be accomplished through cost cutting and eliminating overlapping positions and taking out physical costs depending on the sector. We'll call this "synergies."

We are currently seeing that in the REIT sector.

Taking a look at the "exit strategy" indicator, we expect that when there are high multiples (rich valuations) more firms will bring properties and REITs to market. The REIT universe (as calculated by BMO) currently trades at an 18x FFO multiple (18.4x forward). To put this in context, it is the highest since the financial crisis, as you would expect and approximately two turns lower than the 2005-2006 time frame (20.7x and 19.8x, respectively). While lower, the current economic environment doesn't make me think it should be at the same level, or for that matter, the level it is at.

Top 5 Construction Companies To Buy Right Now: RSA Insurance Group PLC (RSA)

RSA Insurance Group plc is the holding company of the RSA group of companies whose principal activity is the transaction of personal and commercial general insurance business. The Company operates in four segments: Scandinavia, Canada, United Kingdom and Western Europe, and Emerging Markets. The Company provides insurance covers for a range of renewable energy technologies, including Wind Energy, which includes onshore and offshore facilities; Solar Energy, which includes photovoltaic, concentrated and thermal installations; Small Hydro, which includes power stations producing an output up to 50 megawatt, and Bio energy, which includes Biomass, Biogas and Waste to Energy plants. The Company works with both large and small brokers. The Company works with partners, such as building societies, banks, retailers, motor manufacturers, charities, utilities and unions to offer their customers appropriate insurance products. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  RSA Insurance Group Plc (RSA), which insures cars, homes and ships in the U.K., Scandinavia and emerging markets, rose 0.8 percent to 114.1 pence. Morgan Stanley raised its rating on the stock to overweight, the equivalent of a buy recommendation, from underweight.

• [By Sarah Jones]

  RSA Insurance Group Plc (RSA) gained 0.8 percent to 114.1 pence after Morgan Stanley upgraded the insurer to overweight from underweight, saying the share price will benefit from a stronger prospective U.K. performance. The stock has declined 9.2 percent so far this year, while the FTSE 350 Insurance Index has rallied 10 percent.

Top Financial Companies To Invest In Right Now: National Health Investors Inc. (NHI)

National Health Investors, Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT), invests in health care properties, primarily in the long-term care industry in the United States. As of December 31, 2008, it had investments in real estate assets and mortgage notes receivable investments in 123 health care facilities consisting of 83 long-term care facilities, 1 acute care hospital, 4 medical office buildings, 14 assisted living facilities, 4 retirement centers, and 17 residential projects for the developmentally disabled in 17 states. The company has elected to be treated as a REIT for federal income tax purposes and would not be subject to federal income tax, if it distributes at least 90% of its REIT taxable income to its shareholders. National Health Investors, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonas Elmerraji]

   

   

  After performing pretty poorly in the last year, $2 billion healthcare property owner National Health Investors (NHI) has gone from laggard to leader in 2014. Since the start of the year, NHI has moved more than 11% higher, stomping the S&P 500's performance by comparison. And now, NHI looks well positioned for another leg up...

   

  NHI is forming a "rounding bottom" pattern, a basic classic setup that looks exactly like it sounds: it's identified by a curved support level below shares and a horizontal resistance level to the top side. That rounded support line indicates a gradual shift in control from sellers to buyers -- and resistance at $63 is the price level to watch from here.

   

  Why all the significance at $63? It all comes down to buyers and sellers. Price patterns are a good quick way to identify what's going on in the price action, but they're not the reason a stock is tradable. Instead, the "why" comes down to basic supply and demand for NHI's stock.

   

  The $63 resistance level is a price where there has been an excess of supply of shares; in other words, it's a spot where sellers have previously been more eager to step in and take gains than buyers have been to buy. That's what makes a breakout above $63 so significant -- the move means that buyers are finally strong enough to absorb all of the excess supply above that price level.

   

Top Financial Companies To Invest In Right Now: MFS Intermediate Income Trust (MIN)

MFS Intermediate Income Trust (the Trust) is a diversified closed-end management investment company. The Trust seeks to preserve capital and provide high current income. It maintains a portfolio that includes investments in short and intermediate-term United States Government and foreign high-grade securities.

MFS Intermediate Income Trust's portfolio includes non-United States Government bonds, mortgage-backed securities, the United States Government agency securities, the United States Treasury securities, emerging market bonds, commercial mortgage-backed securities, residential mortgage-backed securities and high-grade corporate securities. The Trust can invest in foreign securities, including securities of emerging market issuers. The Trust's investment advisor is Massachusetts Financial Services Company.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Akaralph]

  I have written about MFS Intermediate Income Fund (MIN) on a few previous occasions, most recently here. I have extolled its virtues as a defensive play in a bear market scenario.

Top Financial Companies To Invest In Right Now: Getty Realty Corp (GTY)

Getty Realty Corp. is a real estate investment trust (REIT) in the United States specializing in the ownership, leasing and financing of retail motor fuel and convenience store properties and petroleum distribution terminals. The Company�� properties are located in 21 states across the United States with concentrations in the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic regions. Its properties are operated under a variety of brands, including Getty, BP, Exxon, Mobil, Shell, Chevron, Valero, Fina and Aloha. It owns the Getty trade name in connection with its real estate and the petroleum marketing business in the United States. As of December 31, 2011, Getty Petroleum Marketing Inc. was in possession of 797 properties representing approximately 69% of its 1,149 owned and leased properties. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned 996 properties and leased 153 properties. Nine of the properties it owns is petroleum distribution terminals. In January 2011, it acquired fee or leasehold title to 59 Mobil-branded gasoline station and convenience store properties and also took a security interest in six other Mobil-branded gasoline stations and convenience store properties in a sale/leaseback and loan transaction with CPD NY Energy Corp. (CPD NY), a subsidiary of Chestnut Petroleum Dist. Inc. In may 2013, the Company acquired 36 properties located in the metro New York and Washington, D.C. Beltway. The acquisition includes 16 Mobil branded properties in metro New York, and 13 Exxon and 7 Shell branded properties within the Washington, D.C. Beltway.

The Company leases or sublets approximately 20 of its properties for such uses as fast food restaurants, automobile sales and other retail purposes. The Company leases or sublets its properties primarily to distributors and retailers engaged in the sale of gasoline and other motor fuel products, convenience store products and automotive repair services who are responsible for managing the operations conducted at these properties and for the payment of taxes, m! aintenance, repair, insurance and other operating expenses related to these properties. The operators of its properties are primarily distributors and retailers engaged in the sale of gasoline and other motor fuel products, convenience store products, and automotive repair services.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Duprey]

  Real estate investment trust Getty Realty (NYSE: GTY  ) will pay a second-quarter dividend of $0.20 per share, the same rate it paid last quarter after it increased it 60% from $0.125 per share, the company announced yesterday.

Top Financial Companies To Invest In Right Now: Select Income REIT (SIR)

Select Income REIT, incorporated on December 19, 2011, is a real estate company that primarily owns and invests in single tenants, net leased properties. As of March 12, 2012, the Company owned 251 properties, or the Initial Properties, with a total of approximately 21.4 million rentable square feet. As of December 31, 2012, the Company acquired 16 properties from unrelated third parties with approximately 3.2 million rentable square feet. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned 267 properties with approximately 24.6 million rentable square feet that were approximately 95.3% leased (based on rentable square feet). These properties consists of 229 properties located on the island of Oahu, HI, or the Company's Hawaii Properties, which included approximately 17.8 million rentable square feet that are primarily leased to industrial and commercial tenants and 38 office and industrial properties with approximately 6.8 million square feet located in 18 states throughout the mainland United States, or its Mainland Properties.

The Company's 267 properties were leased to 253 different tenants, with a weighted average remaining lease term of approximately 11.7 years. The Company's Mainland Properties generally consist of properties that are net leased to single tenants.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Marc Bastow]

  Select Income REIT (SIR), a real estate investment trust that owns single-tenant, net-leased properties, raised its quarterly dividend 4.5% to 46 cents per share, payable Nov. 20 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 24.
  SIR Dividend Yield: 7.06%

Top Financial Companies To Invest In Right Now: Vanguard Long Term Bond ETF (BLV)

Vanguard Bond Index Funds (the Fund), formerly Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF, seeks to track the performance of a market-weighted bond index with a long-term, dollar-weighted average maturity. It employs a passive management or indexing strategy designed to track the performance of the Barclays Capital U.S.Long Government/Credit Bond Index (the Index). The Index includes all medium and larger issues of the United States Government, investment-grade corporate, and investment-grade international dollar-denominated bonds that have maturities of greater than 10 years and are publicly issued. The Fund invests by sampling the Index, meaning that it holds a range of securities that, in the aggregate, approximates the full Index in terms of key risk factors and other characteristics. All of the Fund�� investments will be selected through the sampling process, and at least 80% of its assets will be invested in bonds held in the Index. The Fund�� investment advisor is The Vanguard Group, Inc. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By GURUFOCUS]

  In addition to individual stocks several funds pay a monthly dividend. Below is a sampling of these:
  Monthly Bond Funds- iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Credit Bond (CSJ) | Yield: 1.29%
  - Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF (BSV) | Yield: 1.25%
  - Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) | Yield: 2.96%
  - Vanguard Long-Term Bond ETF (BLV) | Yield: 4.42%