5 Banking and Finance Stocks to Buy Today According To Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners

In this piece, we will take a look at the five banking and finance stocks to buy today according to Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners. If you need more details about the investment firm, its founder, and additional finance and investment stocks, then head on over to 10 Banking and Finance Stocks to Buy Today According To Rajiv Jain’s GQG Partners.

5. Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $528 million

Percentage of GQG Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 1.31%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 68

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) is a financial company specializing in healthcare plans and operating in the United States. It offers several kinds of healthcare coverage, which includes supplemental plans, drug prescription plans, and insured benefits covering areas such as dental, vision, and others.

Mr. Jain’s investment firm owned 1.1 million Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) shares by the end of the fourth quarter of last year. These were worth $528 million and represented 1.31% of its investment portfolio. An Insider Monkey poll for the same time period revealed that 68 had owned a stake in the company.

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM) posted $21 billion in revenue and $1.24 in non-GAAP EPS for its fourth fiscal quarter, beating analyst estimates for EPS only. The company announced in February 2022 that it will add two new directors to its board as part of a refreshment process.

Humana Inc. (NYSE:HUM)’s largest investor is Natixis Global Asset Management’s Harris Associates which owns 4 million shares worth $2 billion.

4. Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $759 million

Percentage of GQG Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 1.88%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY), as the name suggests, is a Canadian bank based out of Toronto. It is also one of the oldest banks in the world, after being set up in 1864. The bank offers several services such as checking and savings accounts, lending, financing, brokerage accounts, and credit cards.

By the end of its fiscal Q1, Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) had raked in C$13 billion in revenue and C$2.8 in GAAP EPS, in a strong set of results that saw it beat analyst estimates for both. Scotiabank raised its price target to C$162 from C$146 in February 2022 and set an Outperform rating on the shares.

GQG Partners’s stake in the Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) was worth $759 million during last year’s final quarter. It came through the firm holding 7 million shares and represented 1.88% of its portfolio. Insider Monkey’s analysis of 924 hedge funds for Q4 2021 revealed that 16 had invested in the bank.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)’s largest investor after GQG Partners is Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies. It owns 639,494 shares worth $67 million.

3. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $806 million

Percentage of GQG Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 2%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 111

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is one of the world’s largest and oldest banks. It is headquartered in New York, New York United States, and was founded in 1799, soon after the American revolution. The bank offers several kinds of services in its portfolio. These include consumer, corporate, and commercial banking services alongside asset and wealth management.

By the end of last year’s fourth and final quarter, Mr. Jain’s investment firm had owned 5 million JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shares which were worth $806 million and represented 2% of its investment portfolio. Insider Monkey’s survey of 924 hedge funds for the same time period revealed that 111 had held stakes in the bank.

In its latest fiscal fourth quarter, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) earned $29 billion in revenue and $3.33 in GAAP EPS, missing analyst revenue estimates and beating them for EPS. Amidst the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, the bank reportedly received bond coupon payments from the Russian Federation according to a Reuters report.

Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s largest investor through a $1 billion stake that comes via 7.4 million shares.

Miller Value Partners mentioned the bank in its fourth quarter 2021 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:

“I remember writing about the attractiveness of JP Morgan (JPM) right before it lost about a third of its value in the third quarter of 2011 (which didn’t please some of my colleagues!). I believed JPM was a high-quality bank whose prospects were undervalued due to the overhang on the space. It made money every year through the financial crisis.

In the decade-plus since then, JPM has beaten the market nicely (+417% versus SPX +345%) despite significant headwinds for banks (S&P Financial Sector +286%) and value stocks. Low market expectations are a key ingredient to attractive long-term returns!

An earthquake after-shock metaphor helps to explain the situation. Earthquakes relieve tension in physical systems, but aftershocks are common. These aftershocks aren’t as serious as the original event because stresses have been relieved. The financial crisis alleviated tensions in the financial system as weaker players either perished or were shored up with capital. Lessons learned impacted behavior (lower risk-taking behavior and higher propensity for monetary authorities to intervene supportively), which reduced future risk.

Those realities didn’t matter in the short term, but they sure did in the long term.”

2. ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $904 million

Percentage of GQG Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 2.24%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 29

ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN) is an Indian bank that provides services both in its home country and all over the globe. These include offering several kinds of accounts, loans for a host of purposes, insurance products, and microfinance services.

ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN) raked in ₹61.93 billion in net profit for its fiscal third quarter, marking a hefty sequential increase. It also reported ₹122.3 billion in net interest income, marking for 23% annual growth.

GQG Partners held a massive $904 million stake in ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN) during Q4 2021, by owning 45 million shares. Out of the 924 hedge funds surveyed by Insider Monkey in Q4 2021, 29 had also owned the bank’s shares.

ICICI Bank Limited (NYSE:IBN)’s largest investor after GQG Partners is Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital. It has a $287 million stake via 14 million shares.

1. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

GQG Partners’ Stake Value: $1.9 billion

Percentage of GQG Partners’ 13F Portfolio: 4.79%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 100

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is a healthcare plan provider in the United States. Its plans cover several areas such as consumer oriented plans for different kinds of employers as well as those for individuals. Additionally, it also provides plans for preventive healthcare in older individuals and those with different diseases.

Mr. Jain’s investment firm had a whopping $1.9 billion stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) as Q4 2021 came to an end. This was through owning 3.8 million shares and it represented 4.79% of the investment firm’s portfolio. Insider Monkey’s research of 924 hedge fund portfolios for the same time period revealed that 100 had owned a stake in the firm.

For its fiscal Q4, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) reported $73.7 billion in revenue and $4.48 in non-GAAP EPS, beating analyst estimates for both. These results impressed Citi, which upgraded the health plan provider’s share rating to Buy from Neutral but kept its price target unchanged at $25.75 in February 2022.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)’s largest investor after GQG Partners is Boykin Curry’s Eagle Capital Management which owns 3 million shares worth $1.5 billion.

Disclosure: None. You can also take a look at 15 Most Valuable UK Companies in the World and 12 Best Large-cap Biotech Stocks To Buy Now.