Chesapeake Lodging Trust (CHSP) has accomplished the refinancing of $130.0 million term loan (due on Jul 8, 2014) with 2 individual fixed-rate mortgage loans totaling $185.5 million. The move has helped the company lock in the long-term, fixed-rate debt at a favorable weighted-average interest rate of 3.88% amid the rise in U.S. treasuries and interest rates.
The first is a 7-year, $92.5 million mortgage loan, carrying a fixed interest rate of 3.50% per annum. Secured by Le Meridien San Francisco, this loan was provided by PNC Bank, N.A. of The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (PNC).
The other is a 10-year, $93.0 million mortgage loan bearing a fixed interest rate of 4.25% per annum. Secured by W Chicago ��City Center, the loan was provided by Goldman Sachs Mortgage Company. For both the loans, principal and interest payments are based on a 25-year principal amortization.
Chesapeake Lodging owns luxury and upper-upscale hotels in some of the most desirable locations in the United States. The company specifically focuses on owning and acquiring hotels at prices below replacement cost, with attractive return on investments and significant upside potential.
EMC Insurance Group Inc., an insurance holding company, engages in property and casualty insurance, and reinsurance activities. It operates in two segments, Property and Casualty Insurance, and Reinsurance. The Property and Casualty Insurance segment writes commercial and personal lines of insurance with a focus on medium-sized commercial accounts. Its commercial lines of insurance products comprise automobile, property, workers� compensation, and liability, as well as other products that provide protection against burglary and theft loss, aircraft, marine, and other types of losses; and personal lines of insurance products include automobile, property, and liability. The Reinsurance segment provides reinsurance for other insurers and reinsurers. The company serves small to medium-sized businesses, institutions, and individual consumers. EMC Insurance Group Inc. sells its products through independent insurance agents. The company was founded in 1974 and is headquartered i n Des Moines, Iowa. EMC Insurance Group Inc. is a subsidiary of Employers Mutual Casualty Company.
Advisors' Opinion: Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: iShares Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF (JKL)
iShares Morningstar Small Value Index Fund (the Fund) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Morningstar Small Value Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of stocks issued by small-capitalization companies that have exhibited value characteristics as determined by Morningstar, Inc.'s (Morningstar) index methodology. Index constituents are drawn from the pool of liquid, United States-domiciled stocks that trade publicly on the NYSE, the AMEX or NASDAQ.
The Morningstar index methodology defines small-capitalization stocks as those stocks that form the 7% of market capitalization between the 90th and 97th percentile of the market capitalization of the stocks eligible to be included in the Morningstar US Market Index (a market index that represents approximately 97% of the market capitalization of publicly traded United States stocks). The Fund uses a representative sampling strategy in seeking to track the Index.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Todd Shriber, ETF Professor]
Unusual volume (at least 5X ADV): QuantShares US Market Neutral Anti-Beta ETF (NYSE: BTAL), iShares 10+ Year Credit Bond ETF (NYSE: CLY), iShares Morningstar Small Value ETF (NYSE: JKL) and the PowerShares Dynamic Energy ETF (NYSE: PXI).
Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Vanguard Reit Etf (VNQ)
Vanguard REIT ETF (the Fund), formerly known as Vanguard REIT VIPERs, is an exchange-traded share class of Vanguard REIT Index Fund. The Fund seeks to provide a high level of income and moderate long-term capital appreciation by tracking the performance of an index that measures the performance of publicly traded equity real estate investment trusts (REITs). Vanguard REIT ETF employs a passive management or indexing investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US REIT Index (the Index), an index of United States property trusts that covers about two-thirds of the value of the entire United States REIT market.
Vanguard REIT ETF normally invests approximately 98% of assets in stocks issued by equity REITs. The Fund invests in the stocks that make up the Index, and the remaining assets are allocated to cash investments.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By John Udovich]
Small cap Biomed Realty Trust Inc (NYSE: BMR) is a real estate investment trust (REIT) offering an alternative way to gain exposure to the biotech or life sciences sector, meaning it might be worth taking a closer look at it along with a few benchmarks like the Vanguard REIT ETF (NYSEARCA: VNQ), iShares NASDAQ Biotechnology Index ETF (NASDAQ: IBB) and SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSEARCA: XBI). Of course, it should be mentioned that REITs have had a rough ride lately�given all the ��apering��talk, but there is still a place for them in your portfolio with Biomed Realty Trust being one of the more unique offerings.
Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Imperial Holdings Inc. (IFT)
Imperial Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty finance company in the United States. The company operates in two business segments: Life Finance and Structured Settlements. The Life Finance segment comprises life settlements and finance loan businesses. The Structured Settlement segment purchases structured settlements at a discounted rate and sells such assets to third parties. This segment primarily markets its products through the Internet and television. Imperial Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is based in Boca Raton, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Whopper Investments]
Note: This is my response to the recent short case on Imperial Finance (IFT). Obviously, all humans are fallible, and I'm sure someone can find just as much to argue with my long case as I found to argue with his short case. Please read for yourself, do your own research, and make your own decision. I am long IFT and plan on fully participating in the rights offering.
- [By DCResearch]
Imperial Holdings (IFT) fits the bill for all of those traits and investors today can buy Imperial Holdings for less than 0.75x book value. Upside to book value, an obvious valuation factor for most financial companies, would result in a greater than 40% return for a patient investor. I believe that this is far below the fair value for IFT�� book of life settlements, and upside is in excess of $13 per share.
Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Kilroy Realty Corp (KRC)
Kilroy Realty Corporation, incorporated on September 13, 1996, is a self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company focuses on office and industrial submarkets along the West Coast. The Company owns, develops, acquires and manages real estate assets, consisting primarily of Class A real estate properties in the coastal regions of Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego County, the San Francisco Bay Area and greater Seattle. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� portfolio consisted of 104 office buildings (the Office Properties) and 39 industrial buildings (the Industrial Properties). The Company owns its interests in all of its Office Properties and Industrial Properties through the Kilroy Realty, L.P. (the Operating Partnership) and Kilroy Realty Finance Partnership, L.P. (the Finance Partnership). In March 2012, the Company purchased Menlo Corporate Center in Menlo Park, California. In June 2012, the Company purchased two office properties in the Lake Union submarket of Seattle. In January 2013, the Company purchsed Westlake Terry, a two building 320,399 square-foot office property. In September 2013, the Company announced it has completed the purchase of a 13.8 acre Class A office campus in the coastal Del Mar sub-market of San Diego. Effective September 19, 2013, Kilroy Realty Corp acquired The Heights, a owner and operator of an office campus. In January 2014, Kilroy Realty Corp completed the disposition of 13 San Diego office properties in two tranches. In January 2014, Kilroy Realty Corp acquired from The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences an approximate four-acre parcel near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood.
On January 28, 2011, the Company acquired one building in 250 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA. On April 21, 2011, the Company acquired four buildings in 10210, 10220 and 10230 NE Points Drive; 3933 Lake Washington Boulevard NE, Kirkland, WA. On May 12, 2011, the Company acquired one building in 10770 Water! idge Circle, San Diego, CA. On June 3, 2011, the Company acquired one building in 601 108th Avenue N.E., Bellevue, WA. On June 9, 2011, the Company acquired one building in 4040 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, CA. On September 15, 2011, the Company acquired one building in 201 Third Street, San Francisco, CA. On November 15, 2011, the Company acquired one building in 301 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA. On December 15, 2011, the Company acquired one building in 370 Third Street, San Francisco, CA. In December 2011, it commenced redevelopment at one of its acquired properties in San Francisco. On January 30, 2012, the Company sold 15004 Innovation Drive, San Diego, CA and 10243 Genetic Center Drive, San Diego, CA. In September 2011, the Company disposed of its interest in 10350 Barnes Canyon and 10120 Pacific Heights Drive, San Diego, CA. In December 2011, the Company disposed of interest in 2031 E. Mariposa Avenue, Los Angeles, CA.
The Company conducts substantially all of its operations through the Operating Partnership of which as of December 31, 2011, it owned a 97.2% general partnership interest. Kilroy Realty Finance, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is the sole general partner of the Finance Partnership. The Company conducts substantially all of its development activities through Kilroy Services, LLC (KSLLC), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Operating Partnership. Its wholly owned subsidiaries include Kilroy Realty TRS, Inc., Kilroy Realty Management, L.P., Kilroy RB, LLC, Kilroy RB II, LLC, Kilroy Realty Northside Drive, LLC and Kilroy Realty 303, LLC. As of December 31, 2011, the Company�� tenants included Intuit, Inc., Bridgepoint Education, Inc., Delta Dental of California, AMN Healthcare, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Company, Fish & Richardson P.C., Scripps Health and Epson America, Inc.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Rich Duprey]
Real estate investment trust�Kilroy Realty� (NYSE: KRC ) �announced yesterday�its second-quarter dividend of $0.35 per share, the same rate it's paid since 2009.
- [By Ken McGaha]
The four REITS I reviewed are Kilroy Realty Corp. (KRC), Kimco Realty Corp. (KIM), Eastgroup Properties (EGP) and Federal Realty Investment Trust (FRT).
Best Financial Stocks To Buy For 2014: Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. (GGAL)
Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. operates as a financial services holding company in Argentina. The company offers financial products and services, including collection and payment services, commercial credit cards, direct payroll deposits, capital market alternatives, foreign trade solutions, and corporate e-banking solutions; corporate debt transactions and securitization transactions; and e-collection and payment solutions to various agencies, municipalities, and universities. It also provides a range of financial products and services, such as transactions, loans, and investments; and checking and savings accounts, credit and debit cards, payroll direct deposits, insurance, and retirement and pension payments. In addition, the company offers mutual funds and in brokerage services; manages positions in foreign currency and government securities; acts as an intermediary and distributes financial instruments for institutional investors, corporate customers, and individuals; and enables customers to buy and sell securities on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange. Further, it provides life insurance products, including employee benefit plans and credit related insurance; and property and casualty insurance products, such as home and ATM theft insurance. As of December 31, 2012, the company operated 257 full service banking branches and 1,676 ATMs and self-service terminals. Grupo Financiero Galicia S.A. was founded in 1905 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Advisors' Opinion: - [By Federico Zaldua]
Grupo Financiero Galicia (GGAL), which was once owned by Rob Citrone's hedge fund Discovery Capital Management, owns one of Argentina's biggest private banks by deposits and the fastest growing within the banks that count with national presence. As a matter of fact, according to management, "the bank's estimated market share of loans to private sector was 9.10% growing 56 basis points from a year before and the market share of deposits from the private sector was 8.98% growing 28 basis points in the year."