Among the banks getting approval for their capital plans were Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) received approval to pare back its stock repurchase plan.

J.P. Morgan already had received approval to repurchase $6 billion in stock and boost its quarterly dividend from $0.30 to $0.38 a share, but the bank’s CEO warned that it may have to cut its plans after it prepares a new capital plan at the end of the third quarter. Goldman will also submit a new plan at the same time.

Bank of America plans to repurchase up to $5 billion in common stock and $5.5 billion in preferred stock. The bank’s quarterly dividend of $0.01 will not change.

Citigroup plans to buy back $1.2 billion in common stock through the end of the first quarter of next year and plans no change to its $0.01 quarterly dividend.

Shares of J.P. Morgan are trading down about 2% in the premarket this morning, at $50.06 in a 52-week range of $30.83 to $51.00.

Goldman’s shares are trading down about 1.6%, at $151.62 in a 52-week range of $90.43 to $159.00.

Bank of America is trading up 3.7% at $12.56, a 52-week high, in a current range of $6.72 to $12.44.

Citigroup is trading up fractionally at $47.50 in a range of $24.61 to $47.92.

24/7 Wall St. has decided to offer up a preview and earnings cheat sheet for the banking and finance sector’s key earnings this week. DJIA components Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) are on deck, as are key financial giants like Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C), Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK), and others.

We have taken consensus estimates and the consensus price targets on each stock from Thomson Reuters. Book value per share was taken from Ycharts.com and Yahoo! Finance.

Wednesday’s key bank and financial earnings are the following:

Bank of New York Mellon Corp. (NYSE: BK) is expected to report $0.54 EPS and $3.6 billion in sales. At $26.66 its 52-week range is $19.30 to $27.32 and the consensus price target is $26.82. This fiduciary bank most recently had a book value of $30.11.

Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) is expected to report earnings of $0.15 EPS and $1.21 billion in revenue. At $15.20, the 52-week range is $11.34 to $15.57, but we would note that the consensus analyst price target is down at $14.28.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) reports Wednesday morning and estimates are $0.65 EPS and $620.1 million in revenue. At $31.70, the 52-week range is $27.421 to $34.00 and the consensus price target objective is $33.18. The book value per share is $36.61.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) reports Wednesday morning and the estimates are $3.66 EPS and $7.83 billion in revenue. At $137 now, the 52-week trading range is $90.43 to $138.15 and the consensus price target is under the share price as it is now at $134.71. Goldman Sachs had a book value of $140.58 as of its last quarter.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is set to report early Wednesday and estimates are $1.19 EPS and $24.44 billion in revenue. The current price of $45.90 compares to a 52-week range of $30.83 to $46.49 and compares to a consensus price target of $50.21 for the stock. Team-Dimon was listed as having a book value of $50.18 per share.

M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) is set to report earnings before the market opens on Wednesday. Estimates are $2.18 EPS and $1.12 billion in revenue. With shares at $103, the 52-week range is $76.92 to $105.33 and the consensus price target is only $107.18. M&T’s book value was listed as $71.58 per share.

Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS) reports on Wednesday morning and its estimates are  $0.75 EPS and $988.2 million in revenue. At $52.22, the 52-week range is $40.64 to $53.50 and the consensus price target is $50.75. This trust and fiduciary bank has a book value of $31.32 per share.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) is also up for earnings and estimates are $0.74 EPS and $5.16 billion in sales. At $33.33, the 52-week range is $27.30 to $35.46 and the consensus price target is $36.91. US Bancorp has a book value of $18.50 per share.

Thursday is going to bring another big earnings day for banking and financial companies. The following reports are due Thursday morning:

Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) reports Thursday morning and the estimates are $0.02 EPS and $21.1 billion in revenue. At $11.57, the 52-week range is $6.44 to $12.20 and the consensus price target is now up at $11.98. That target price from analysts has crept significantly higher since the end of 2012. BofA’s book value is listed as $20.40 per share.

BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) is expected to post $0.71 EPS and $2.46 billion in sales. At $30.20, the 52-week trading range is $26.58 to $34.37 and the consensus price target from analysts is $33.03 for BB&T. The book value per share is $26.97.

BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) has consensus estimates of $3.69 EPS and $2.5 billion in sales. At $222, this money management giant has traded between $160.25 and $224.47 over the last year and analysts see the consensus price target as $225.67.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) is expected to report $1.61 EPS and $5.88 billion in revenue. At $61.74, this credit card issuer (and bank) has traded between $44.30 and $62.92 in the last 52-weeks and analysts have a consensus price target of $69.85 on the stock.

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) has consensus estimates of $0.96 EPS and $18.8 billion in revenue. Citigroup trades around $42.25 and the 52-week range is $24.61 to $43.25. Analysts have a consensus price target of $47.43 on Citi and the book value was recently put at $64.25 per share.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is expected to report $0.29 EPS and $7.07 billion in revenue. Morgan Stanley trades at $20.30 and the 52-week trading range is $12.26 to $21.19. Its consensus price target is $21.00 and the most recent book value was pegged at $32.23 per share.

BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley.

Central Garden & Pet Co. (NASDAQ: CENT) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

GT Advanced Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GTAT) cut to Neutral at Piper Jaffray.

Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI) named as Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Medivation Inc. (NASDAQ: MDVN) started as Neutral at UBS.

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ONXX) started at Buy at UBS.

Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ: PNRA) raised to Outperform at Wedbush.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) raised Overweight at Morgan Stanley

SandRidge Energy Inc. (NYSE: SD) cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: SWHC) cut to Neutral at Cowen.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) cut to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

Here are some other outside (and internal) outlook pieces for the end of 2012 and 2013:

• Imagine this … Coal could be a top performer in 2013 after two really bad years.
• Fortune’s Top 10 Stocks to Buy for 2013
• BofA’s 10 Defensive and Yield Stock Picks for 2013
• The Big Gold Trade: 2013 Pairing Gold Versus Miners
• S&P 500 Upside Targets for 2013, from everyone
• Our own Alternative Energy and Cleantech Outlook for 2013

JON C. OGG

Alcatel-Lucent S.A. (NYSE: ALU) maintained Underperform at BofA/ML and maintained Hold at Argus, but the latter may discontinue coverage if the stock dips under $1.

ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) reiterated Buy and raised price target to $41.50 at BofA/ML.

BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP) added to US 1 List at BofA/ML.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) maintained Hold but cautious and warns of reinstating Sell rating at Argus.

Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) added to US 1 List at BofA/ML.

Comerica Inc. (NYSE: CMA) raised to Neutral at Citi.

Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN) started as Buy at Needham.

Diageo PLC (NYSE: DEO) maintained Buy and target raised 6% at BofA/ML.

Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ: GRPN) cut to Market Perform at William Blair.

Highwoods Properties Inc. (NYSE: HIW) raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

JCPenney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) cut to Hold at Jefferies.

Nelnet Inc. (NYSE: NNI) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Ryanair Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: RYAAY) cut to Neutral at Citi.

Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) raised to Buy at Jefferies.

Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) reiterated Buy and raised target to $4 at BofA/ML.

SL Green Realty Corp. (NYSE: SLG) raised to Buy at BofA/ML.

TripAdvisor Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley.

US Cellular Corp. (NYSE: USM) raised to Buy at Citi.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.

Voronado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) raised to Buy at Citi.

JON C. OGG

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ACHN) raised to Buy from Underperform with $13 target at BofA/ML.

Allegheny Technologies Inc. (NYSE: ATI) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.

Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) started as Hold at Canaccord Genuity.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE: AEO) named Bull of the Day at Zacks.

BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.

The Charles Schwab Corp. (NYSE: SCHW) cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (NASDAQ: CLNE) started as Hold at KeyBanc.

Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

The Dow Chemical Co. (NYSE: DOW) started as Sector Perform at RBC.

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. (NYSE: DD) started as Sector Perform at RBC.

Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) started as Buy at Canaccord Genuity.

Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IDIX) cut to Neutral at BofA/ML.

Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) cut to Neutral at Citigroup.

Manchester United PLC (NYSE: MANU) maintained Outperform but cut target to $17 at Credit Suisse.

Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.

Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ: MAT) cut to Hold at Needham.

Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) raised to Conviction Buy List at Goldman Sachs.

Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS) cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.

The Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW) started as Top Pick at RBC.

SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.

Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.

Westport Innovations Inc. (NASDAQ: WPRT) started as Hold at KeyBanc.

JON C. OGG

Some of these regional banks were screened for our Safest Banks in America for Depositors and many were close enough that they almost made the list. Two banks did make the list.

The “Neutral ratings with not much commentary were in BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT), Bank of Hawaii (NYSE: BOH), EverBank Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: EVER), Synovus Financial (NYSE: SNV), and TCF Financial (NYSE: TCB).

There were two more “Neutral” ratings with more expanded notes.  Fulton Financial Corp. (NASDAQ: FULT) actually saw its price target raised by Credit Suisse to $10.50 from $10.00 and saw its estimates raised.  Valley National Bancorp (NYSE: VLY) saw its target cut to $11 from $12 and Credit Suisse is under the street on earnings estimates.

KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) and M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB) were both on our list of the 7 safest banks but Credit Suisse only has a Neutral rating on each. KeyCorp has a $7.00 price target, under the current price; M&T’s target at Credit Suisse is $91.00. KeyCorp is also expected to do much lower than the street consensus in earnings if Credit Suisse is correct.  Regardless, neither bank is being removed from our safest banks list.

The “Outperform” ratings are in shares of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE: FHN), Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ: FITB), Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (NASDAQ: HBAN), Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF), SunTrust Banks Inc. (NYSE: STI) and Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ: ZION).

Credit Suisse did key in on one Canadian bank and that was on “Outperform” rated Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO) with a $65 target on that one.  The firm covered its U.S. Investor Day and said that management seemed quite confident about its growth prospects, including guiding to positive U.S. loan growth in the next few quarters. We believe investors left the event with a better sense of BMO’s U.S. expansion strategy.

After the reports on wider losses at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) and possibly from this call we have the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (NYSEMKT: KRE) down $0.19 at $26.46 this morning.  Three of these banks mentioned in the Credit Suisse call are in the top ten holdings in that ETF.

Read Also: The 7 Safest Banks in America

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JON C. OGG

The general assumption is that customers should know what they are getting themselves into when they agree to these fees. But according to the Safe Checking Project at Pew Charitable Trusts, customers are often unaware of the fees associated with their checking accounts because many financial institutions are not upfront about them. Furthermore, bank customers are overwhelmed with very long disclosures — 69 pages on average, according to Pew.

“The problem is that these disclosures are hard to read,” Susan Weinstock, director of the project, told 24/7 Wall St. “Nobody reads these things. They are not meant to be read. They are complex.”

Some banks fare better than others in terms of disclosure. Certain banks have all of their information online, which is considered most easily accessible to customers. Others have some information only available at local branches, which is less accessible, but at least is available. And a few banks do not disclose important information to customers at all.

24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of the top and bottom three banks in terms of their transparency with customers regarding checking account fees. Pew measured how 12 different banks disclosed nine different pieces of information regarding checking account fees:

• Minimum deposit needed to open an account
• Monthly fee
• Requirements to waive monthly fee
• Nonsufficient funds fee
• Overdraft transfer fee
• Overdraft penalty fee
• Maximum number of overdraft fees per day
• Extended overdraft penalty fee
• Posting order

Pew then categorized banks on each piece of information based on how readily accessible the information was to consumers. Based on this information, 24/7 Wall St. compiled the following list of the top and bottom three banks.

Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) Raised to Equal-Weight at Barclays.
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) Cut to Underweight at JPMorgan.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK) Started as Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI) named Bear of the Day at Zacks.
Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE: EMN) named as Value stock of the day at Zacks.
Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) Cut to Market Perform at Wells Fargo.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE: MRO) Cut to Hold at Argus.
Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEET) Raised to Outperform at Baird.
Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies.
Royal Bank of Scotland (NYSE: RBS) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
SLM Corp. (NYSE: SLM) named as Bull of the Day at Zacks.
Urban Outfitters, Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) Raised to Buy from Neutral at Janney Capital.

If you enjoyed the top analyst calls, you can sign up in the box below to join our morning email list to receive news directly in your inbox each morning. We include major analyst upgrades and downgrades, IPO and M&A news, special situation developments, observations on Warren Buffett and key market gurus, as well as special exclusive feature stories.

JON C. OGG

It still feels as though calculating a bank’s book value is a bit like calculating the cash per share of an emerging biotech that just experienced an implosion due to a poor drug candidate’s test result. The value may be eroded through time.  Now that earnings season has passed. 24/7 Wall St. has run a screen of the money-center banks, large broker-dealers, and super-regional banks trading at or under book value from the last quarter under the FinViz screen.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) now trades around $25.30 and its October earning’s book value was listed as $45.93 per share, up from $44.77 one quarter earlier and versus $42.29 a year earlier.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) is almost embarrassing, or actually it is embarrassing.  After a 2% drop to $5.36 today, BofA’s tangible book value per share in October was $13.22 versus $12.91 a year earlier and compared to $12.65 in the second quarter.  The stated book value per share was $20.80 in the third quarter, down from $21.17 a year earlier and up from $20.29 in the second quarter of 2011.

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) is another large discount to book value and the $24.60 price compared to a stated book value $60.56 per share and a tangible book value per share of$49.50.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC), Warren Buffett’s favorite bank, used to trade at a premium to book value but that now trades at 0.93-times its most recently stated book value.

A screen at FinViz gave some key banks that are large and well-known institutions, some of which have no exposure to Europe and/or the PIIGS to speak of, which are trading at a discount to their stated book value.  Others screened from FinViz are as follows, and these banks are all expected to be profitable on an operations basis ahead:

The trust and fiduciary banks are also at discounts.  BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) trades at 0.88-times its latest book value.  The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) trades at 0.66-times its latest book value. 

Other regional and large banking outfits are at large discounts too… Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) trades at 0.64-times its latest book value.  Fifth Third Bancorp (NYSE: FITB) trades at 0.81-times its latest book value.  The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) trades at 0.64-times its latest book value.  Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) trades at 0.64-times its latest book value.  Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF) is just about to have a quarter-end but it trades at 0.64-times its latest book value.  PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) trades at 0.78-times its latest book value.  SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) trades at 0.47-times its latest book value.

As a reminder, our take is that even if the market were to suddenly recover, tangible book values would be the first line to watch and stated book value would be much later after that.  The book value game is one that looks and feels shockingly cheap today because the sector’s earnings power is being challenged each and every day.  Until the climate moves beyond winding down prop-trading, not going for many loans, not being able to earn money in the short-term and intermediate-term fixed income markets, and a climate where these are sued over and over for actions of yesteryear and with the regulators running the banks.
 
Value investors and investors screening for “cheap stocks” still need to look elsewhere, unless they know how to model worst case scenarios for about a year or two out from today or if they think they can quantify the regulatory, legal, and operating restriction-adjusted earnings ahead.

JON C. OGG

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) will lead off the banks as far as earnings season.  It is likely that book value here grew or did not fall much and we will be paying attention to Jamie Dimon’s comments on how his internal customers’ credit metrics came out in Q3.  Jamie Dimon showed that book value was listed as $44.77 versus $43.34 the first quarter and versus $40.99 a year earlier.  If Chase is the best quality of the money-center banks that there is, then a $33 handle today generates close to 0.75-times book value.  

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) noted in July that tangible book value per share was $12.65, down from $13.21 in the first quarter of 2011 and up from $12.14 in the second quarter of 2010.  Its stated book value per share was listed as $20.29 as of June 30, down from $21.15 in the first quarter and down from $21.45 in the same period of 2010.  Shares are trading under $6.50 today.  The trick is not that Bank of America is lying about the book value today.  We think that the number was actually true based upon a snapshot in time, but the issue is that the street cannot figure out how to model its mortgage exposure and lawsuit exposure and what that does to the book value a year or two out.  What if regulators move to press for a break-up of if the company remains under pressure for the long-haul.  What if they keep losing customers over the $5.00 fee for using debit cards for buying goods.  Also, Bank of America is expected to have a loss this quarter and its charges and other issues have likely continued to pressure the book value metrics.  What is there to say about the likely direction of the book value for the foreseeable future.

We ran a screen of banks trading at or under book value from the last quarter under the FinViz screen.  Book value should be considered a ceiling rather than a floor for the time being.  Ultimately that will change, but we live in a climate where banks are winding down prop-trading, not going for many loans, are not able to earn money in the short-term and intermediate-term fixed income markets, being sued over and over for actions of yesteryear, are under more and more regulation, and more.  There is just no real good news that is evident yet and shareholders are going to not care about book value any time soon.

A screen at FinViz gave some key banks valued at over $10 billion and trading under book value, and that is generally the stated book value rather than the tangible book value.  We would note that the price changes of the shares may alter these numbers slightly as the prices move up and down into and during earnings season.  We have also included earnings estimates for the quarter from Thomson Reuters to show which banks have a shot at higher book value rather than the banks losing money: 

BB&T Corp. (NYSE: BBT) trades at 0.92-times its latest book value.  Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.49 EPS.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) trades at 0.69-times its latest book value.  Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.53 EPS.

Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) trades at 0.46-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.84 EPS.

Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) trades at 0.68-times its latest book value.  This one is in the midst of digesting additional purchases so tallying up a relevant book value may be a couple of quarters out. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $1.68 EPS.

Fifth Third Bancorp (NYSE: FITB) trades at 0.80-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.33 EPS.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) trades at 0.68-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.37 EPS.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) trades at 0.50-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.34 EPS.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. (NYSE: PNC) trades at 0.81-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $1.49 EPS.

SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE: STI) trades at 0.51-times its latest book value. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.35 EPS.

As a reminder, earnings from operations do not assure that any growth will have been seen in stated book value nor in tangible book value.

******

An exception to the rule: Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) at 1.01-times its most recently stated book value.  Wells Fargo is around $27.00 now, although the book value per share was listed as $23.84 in its July earnings report. Earnings estimates for the quarter are $0.72 EPS.

Until Wall Street investors can figure out where these banks are going to make their profits and until Main Street and state and federal agencies stop putting severe pressure on the banks, what good is book value?  Book value is current a ceiling rather than a floor. 

Value investors and investors screening for “cheap stocks” still need to look elsewhere, unless they know how to model worst case scenarios for about a year or two out from today.

JON C. OGG