In this article, we discuss the 5 financial stocks to buy according to Jim Cramer. If you want to read our detailed analysis of these stocks, go directly to the 10 Financial Stocks to Buy According to Jim Cramer.
5. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) provides a range of financial services. Jim Cramer gave the stock a Buy recommendation during the Discussed Stock segment of his show in mid October.
On October 18, investment advisory Oppenheimer raised the price target on The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) stock to $576 from $520 and kept an Outperform rating. Analyst Chris Kotowski issued the ratings update.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, New York-based investment firm Eagle Capital Management is a leading shareholder in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) with 3.6 million shares worth more than $1.3 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Artisan Partners, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Financial services firm Goldman Sachs is a best-in-class franchise with a premier brand that attracts top talent and sustains market share across its businesses. We believe this has helped Goldman weather recent market volatility. In addition to de-levering risk-weighted assets, Goldman is also growing its digital investment footprint through the expansion of features on its Marcus Invest platform. The company’s stability—and ability to grow its brand even in tough times—has kept us invested over the long term.”
4. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79
The journalist investor spoke about Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), a diversified financial services firm, during the Discussed Stock round of Mad Money on December 1, giving it a Buy rating.
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) recently announced that two retail banking units of the firm, based in Puerto Rico and Uruguay, would be sold to independent broker Insigneo. Scott Schroeder, a key executive at the firm, said the sale would “simplify” the wealth business of Citigroup.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 79 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $5.5 billion in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), compared to 87 the preceding quarter worth $6.1 billion.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Chicago-based investment firm Harris Associates is a leading shareholder in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) with 28 million shares worth more than $1.9 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“We fully exited position in Citigroup. Global financial services company Citigroup made a $900 million clerical error and received a public reprimand from federal regulators. This, after a decade focused on process control, information technology and risk systems, makes the error substantially more costly than just the $900 million mistake. Regulators believe the company’s risk management improvements have fallen short of expectations. To rectify the situation, a process and technology spending surge could negatively affect 2021-2022 profits by 10% to 20%. Trust and confidence are important in large financial institutions, and this incident combined with the CEO’s sudden retirement shook ours.”
3. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 101
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is a New York-based finance firm. It has an impressive dividend history with eight consecutive years of increasing payouts and 25 years of payments. It recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, in line with previous. The forward yield was 2.51%.
In mid-October, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) stock was recommended as a Buy by the famed investor during the Discussed Stock segment of his show that airs on news platform CNBC.
Among the hedge funds being tracked by Insider Monkey, Washington-based investment firm Fisher Asset Management is a leading shareholder in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) with 7 million shares worth more than $1.1 billion.
In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Bretton Fund, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“After a strong performance in 2019, we wrote this about our bank stocks in last year’s report: “There will be another recession sooner than later, and our banks will see larger loans losses, but we think this is more than priced into the stock, and our banks are well reserved for that eventuality.” Little did we know “sooner” really meant “a few weeks from now.” Despite the economic shock, the banks still have huge capital cushions that can absorb large loan losses. Our remaining bank investments, JPMorgan and Bank of America, increased their reserves significantly at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis in anticipation of imminent loan defaults, but with the government stimulus and perhaps a more resilient economy than many would have guessed, actual loan losses are up only slightly. They might happen later in 2021, but with an additional stimulus package and the vaccine rolling out, the large-scale losses may not be as bad as most people predicted. The bigger drag on the banks’ earnings power is lower rates, which in our opinion will persist for a long time. Despite this drag, we estimate both JPMorgan and Bank of America will continue to grow revenue and earnings over the next few years, while we believe their stocks remain bargains in a somewhat expensive market. JPMorgan’s earnings per share declined 17% last year, and its stock returned -5.5%. Bank of America’s earnings, which are more sensitive to interest rates, were down 32%, and its stock returned -11.6%.”
2. Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 106
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) is a conglomerate with core interests in the insurance business. Cramer gave a Buy rating to the firm in late October while answering a question related to it on the Lightning Round segment of his show.
Over the past month, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) stock has outperformed the benchmark S&P 500 by 1.2 percentage points and the growth-heavy ARK Innovation ETF by close to 19 percentage points, indicating the market shift towards value heading into 2022.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 106 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $19 billion in Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B), compared to 116 in the preceding quarter worth $22 billion.
In its Q1 2021 investor letter, Vltava Fund, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK-B) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“Despite the considerable rise in stock markets over the past year, there are still many attractive opportunities. Human nature also is playing a bit into our hands. Investor crowds often chase popular stocks, hot IPOs, or mysterious SPACs and completely leave aside stocks they consider boring and not sexy enough. A typical example of this category is our long-term largest position in Berkshire Hathaway. Since we bought it for the first time, its price has nearly quadrupled and yet it remains just as undervalued today as it was at that time. Considering the current rate at which it is buying back its own shares and the amount of cash that Berkshire Hathaway has, my greatest wish as a shareholder is for the company’s share price to remain as low as possible for as long as possible.”
1. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 123
The host of Mad Money on CNBC recommended PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), a payments technology firm headquartered in California, as a Buy during the Discussed Stock segment of his show on December 1.
UBS analyst Rayna Kumar recently assumed coverage of PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $263, noting the firm would benefit from accelerated growth of digital payments in the coming months.
At the end of the third quarter of 2021, 123 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $12.8 billion in PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL), compared to 143 in the preceding quarter worth $16.4 billion.
In its Q4 2020 investor letter, Polen Capital Management, an asset management firm, highlighted a few stocks and PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) was one of them. Here is what the fund said:
“For the full year 2020, one of the top performers was PayPal, which we purchased in 2019, the company continues to take market share in digital payments and has seen an acceleration in user adoption and engagement, especially within their “silver tech” or older user demographic. We expect many more years of ongoing double-digit growth from their various business segments and new initiatives.”
You can also take a peek at 10 Stocks Reddit’s WallStreetBets is Buying in July 2021 and Top Robinhood Stocks Popular on Reddit.
