We recently compiled a list of the Why These 15 Bank Stocks Are Skyrocketing So Far In 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Franklin Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:FRAF) stands against the other bank stocks.
The banking sector is roaring back to life so far in 2025 as the economy has been stronger than what most analysts have expected. Banks are also shedding their conservative reputations and are starting to take more risks and spend on growth, especially as most companies are experimenting with AI.
Plus, this is coinciding with a worldwide rate cut cycle as central banks in most countries ease monetary policy. Analysts are also bullish and have raised their price targets, whereas many retail and institutional investors are buying back in.
The bank stocks benefiting the most from this are likely to be the strongest.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the top-performing bank stocks year-to-date. Stocks that I have covered recently will be excluded from this list.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds invest in? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points. (see more details here).
A friendly bank-teller standing behind rows of deposit boxes, representing the reliable banking products.
Franklin Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:FRAF)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 2
Franklin Financial Services Corp (NASDAQ:FRAF) is a bank holding company for F&M Trust.
The stock is up so much so far in 2025 due to a strategic portfolio restructuring despite a Q4 loss. The most significant catalyst came from the January 28, 2025, Q4 2024 earnings report, where FRAF sold $46.7 million in low-yield securities to reposition its portfolio for higher returns.
It caused a $3.4 million after-tax loss, many think this is a forward-looking move to improve net interest margins. Net income rose to $11.1 million for 2024.
It also declared a $0.32/share quarterly dividend for Q1 2025.
FRAF stock is up 23.08% year-to-date.
Overall FRAF ranks 5th on our list of the bank stocks that are skyrocketing so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of FRAF as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than FRAF but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
