4-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Umpqua

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 130,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, regional bank Umpqua Holdings (Nasdaq: UMPQ) has earned a respected four-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Umpqua's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Umpqua facts

Headquarters (founded)	Portland, Ore. (1953)
Market Cap	$500.39 million
Industry	Regional -- Pacific Banks
TTM Revenue	$189.9 million
Management	President/CEO Raymond Davis (since 1999) CFO Ronald Farnsworth (since 2007)
Compound Net Interest Income Growth (over last five years)	20.7%
Dividend Yield	2.4%
Competitors	Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)
CAPS members bullish on UMPQ also bullish on:	General Electric (NYSE: GE) Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL)
CAPS members bearish on UMPQ also bearish on:	Citigroup (NYSE: C) Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's), and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, 583 of the 627 members who have rated Umpqua -- or 93% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include spanxter and SophicFool.

In late April, spanxter highlighted Umpqua as one of the likely winners of the West:

As an Oregonian, I can tell you that folks from the Northwest prefer to do business locally with a small player than a big bank from the east coast. With the implosion of Washington Mutual, [Umpqua] will gain marketshare. I believe the worst hits [Umpqua] will take are already priced into the stock.

In a pitch from last week, SophicFool wraps up with some TARP talk:

Umpqua did receive $214 Million in Oct, 08. However the CEO Ray Davis has repeatedly said from the start that the money was not required for survival. Umpqua was already well capitalized and did not need the infusion of cash. There are talks about returning the $214 Million back to the government due to the 'stigma' associated with the money, but no decision has been made as of yet.

To wrap up, I like the prospects of this regional bank. It's different in how it interacts with the customer base at their offices, they interact with the community, and management seems to be well grounded. The stock will most likely bump around quite a bit in 2009 as the banking industry sorts itself out, but 2010 should show steady gains as a leading bank in their region.

What do you think about Umpqua, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 130,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.