Are Banks Still a Buy at Dow 14,000? Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C)

At first glance, in turn, it’s tempting to conclude that one should only invest in, say, Bank of America and Citigroup and avoid buying shares of US Bancorp and M&T Bank. While there is some legitimacy to this conclusion, the reality is that it also depends on what exactly you’re looking for in an investment. If you’re on the hunt for share-price appreciation exclusively, then by all means this is the appropriate takeaway, as I strongly believe that Bank of America in particular still offers considerable upside potential for investors comfortable with the risk. But if you’re looking for, say, a dividend play with less upside potential, then you could do a lot worse than New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:NYCB), which yields a generous 7.7% and a proven record of responsible leadership and consistent profitability.

Alternatively, for those of you with an affinity for Goldilocks bank stocks — that is, stocks that offer a little of everything — then you’d be better suited to go with Wells Fargo and (NYSE:WFC) Huntington Bancshares. While Wells Fargo trades for a dear 1.5 times tangible book, its shares yield a decent 2.8% and its management has clearly expressed a desire to increase this further. And as I discuss in a recent in-depth report, Huntington Bancshares offers a healthy portion of both, trading for a reasonable 1.2 times tangible book while yielding a respectable 2.3%.

Thus, the answer to the question of whether banks are still a buy is both yes and no. It just depends on what you’re looking for.

The article Are Banks Still a Buy at Dow 14,000? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by John Maxfield.

John Maxfield owns shares of Bank of America. The Motley Fool recommends Wells Fargo and owns shares of Bank of America, Huntington Bancshares, and Wells Fargo.

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