We recently published a list of 10 Best Small Cap Bank Stocks To Invest In Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Flushing Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:FFIC) stands against other best small cap bank stocks to invest in now.
The global banking market was valued at $35.4 billion in 2024, according to Market Research Future. It’s expected to grow from $37.17 billion in 2025 to $55.25 billion by 2034 at a CAGR of 4.55%. McKinsey and Company’s Global Banking Annual Review for 2024 stated that the global banking industry has consistently displayed low price-to-book multiples, ranking at the bottom of all sectors. This raises a lot of questions regarding the industry’s long-term value creation.
However, in the past 2 years, the sector has seen healthy profitability, capital, and liquidity since the global financial crisis of 2007-2009. Because these gains are attributed to the surging interest rates, there are several questions about their sustainability. However, without these gains, the Return on Tangible Equity (ROTE) for many regions would fall below the cost of capital. The banking market should focus on structural changes and operational efficiency to counteract these concerns. Analyzing high-performing banks shows that they often result from specific segment selection and strategic scaling within the value chain and geographically.
Barclays senior equity analyst Jason Goldberg joined CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ on March 20 to discuss the state of the banking sector. Goldberg talked about the recent volatility in bank stocks, which initially increased after the presidential election but was followed by a drop. He thinks that bank valuations are currently lower than their historical averages, considering that the price-to-book ratios are about half a point lower than usual. Goldberg explained that the reason for the initial surge in this sector remains intact when asked about whether the fundamental environment for banks shifted since their peak during the recent rally. This is because of market enthusiasm for a pro-growth agenda and expectations of reduced regulation. He acknowledged the presence of near-term uncertainties about taxes, immigration, and tariffs. But he’s positive that these issues will be resolved shortly and followed by increased corporate borrowing, investment, M&A, and IPO activity.
Overall, Goldberg is of the idea that the potential for loan growth, increased merger activity, and reduced regulations will all contribute to an optimistic banking sector.
We sifted through the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of all the bank stocks that were trading between $300 million and $2 billion. We then selected the 10 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q4 2024. The hedge fund data was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database which tracks the moves of over 900 elite money managers.
