Earnings season has so far been a success, with the majority of companies reporting earnings that met or exceeded expectations. Will the trend continue?
This upside is especially exciting because quarterly earnings reports are big movers for many stock prices. If earnings exceed expectations, a higher stock price will often be the reward.
With that in mind, we screened a universe of financial dividend stocks that are reporting earnings in the next five days (starting May 1). We selected only companies with yields between 1% and 7% to account for payout sustainability.
Additionally, we wanted to narrow down our lists for those with net institutional purchases in the current quarter. Institutional investors put a lot of analysis into their big trades, so Main Street investors (as well as their institutional peers) often follow their purchases.
Business section: Investing ideas
We were left with the six companies below. Do you think institutional investors have it right?
List sorted by dividend yield. (Click here to access free, interactive tools to analyze these ideas.)
1. RAIT Financial Trust (NYSE: RAS ) : Operates as a self-managed and self-advised real estate investment trust. The company has a market cap of $478.72 million, most recent closing price at $4.76. Dividend yield at 6.61%. It reports earnings on May 3. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter stand at 6.8 million shares, which represents about 17.96% of the company's float of 37.86 million shares.
2. Excel Trust (NYSE: EXL ) : Engages in financing, developing, leasing, owning and managing community and power centers, grocery-anchored neighborhood centers, and freestanding retail properties. The company has a market cap of $407.27 million, most recent closing price at $11.98. Dividend yield at 5.42%. It reports earnings on May 2. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter stand at 1.8 million shares, which represents about 6.22% of the company's float of 28.94 million shares.
3. Retail Opportunity Investments (Nasdaq: ROIC ) : Engages in investing in, acquiring, owning, and managing commercial real estate in the United States. The company has a market cap of $605.85 million, most recent closing price at $12.17. Dividend yield at 3.95%. It reports earnings on May 3. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter stand at 6.9 million shares, which represents about 21.15% of the company's float of 32.63 million shares.
4. Maiden Holdings: Provides non-catastrophe inland marine and property coverage reinsurance solutions to the regional and specialty insurers in the United States and Europe. The company has a market cap of $597.26 million, most recent closing price at $8.27. Dividend yield at 3.86%. It reports earnings on May 2. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter stand at 3.3 million shares, which represents about 6.47% of the company's float of 51.04 million shares.
5. Douglas Emmett (NYSE: DEI ) : Operates office and multifamily properties in California and Hawaii. The company has a market cap of $3.26 billion, most recent closing price at $23.09. Dividend yield at 2.58%. It reports earnings on May 1. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter stand at 7.1 million shares, which represents about 5.48% of the company's float of 129.56 million shares.
6. AmTrust Financial Services (Nasdaq: AFSI ) : Operates as a multinational specialty property and casualty insurance company in the United States and internationally. The company has a market cap of $1.65 billion, most recent closing price at $27.36. Dividend yield at 1.32%. It reports earnings on May 1. Net institutional purchases in the current quarter stand at 2.9 million shares, which represents about 9.61% of the company's float of 30.19 million shares.
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.
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