Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) beat earnings estimates with 8% growth this morning at $0.57 EPS versus Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $0.48 EPS. The bank cited reduced credit costs, expense controls, corporate loan growth, and more. Book value per common shares was listed as $33.25 as of March 31 and shares closed at $37.46 on Monday with a 52-week trading range of $33.11 to $45.85.

New York Community Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: NYB) missed earnings estimates by $0.03 EPS at $0.28 EPS versus estimates of $0.31 from Thomson Reuters.  The bank’s margin was 17 basis points wider from a year ago but three basis points narrower sequentially.  The bank said its interest rate spread and net interest margins were hit by the same factors affecting interest income.  Book value per share fell $0.02 sequentially to $12.67 per share, while tangible book value grew $0.03 sequentially to $6.94 per share.  Shares closed at $17.08 yesterday and the 52-week trading range is $14.40 to $19.33.

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) posted earnings of $0.61 EPS, down from $0.64 last quarter.  Net income was slightly lower sequentially and year over year at $151 million.  Return on average common equity was 8.9% versus 9.9% a year earlier and 9.1% a quarter earlier.  Northern Trust is often treated more like an asset manager than as a bank as you will see in book value comparisons: book value was $28.65 at the end of March, versus a close of $51.40 yesterday and versus a 52-week trading range of $45.30 to $58.37.

Regions Financial Corp. (NYSE: RF) is not deemed as being of the same quality as many banks. The earnings were $0.01 EPS versus -$0.10 EPS expected as a loss at Thomson Reuters. The bank noted that delinquencies declined again, criticized and classified fell again, non-performing loans declined by 23%, charge-offs fell by 29%, net interest margin improved again, and non-interest expenses fell 8%.  Regions showed that its tangible book value per common share was $6.00 per share.  Shares closed at $6.98 on Monday and the 52-week trading range is $5.12 to $9.33.

Sterling Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) reported a net loss of $370 thousand, which rounds up to $0.00 EPS.  That as $0.02 shy of the Thomson Reuters estimate of $0.02 EPS.  As this has a pending merger with Comerica it doesn’t really matter.  Book value per common shares was listed as $6.10 per share, well under its $8.76 price.

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) managed to beat earnings by $0.02 with $0.88 EPS versus $0.86 expected from Thomson Reuters as revenues from operations grew about 10%.  The return on average common equity was 9.9% versus 10.0% in Q1-2010.  Tier 1 common was 17.5%, assets under management grew by more than 5% to $2.12 trillion; assets under custody and administration grew about 5% to $22.6 trillion. State Street is also treated differently than other banks due to its asset management and custodial role.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) beat earnings by $0.03 at $0.52 EPS versus the $0.55 estimate from Thomson Reuters.  Revenues rose over 4% to $4.52 billion, short of the $4.56 billion expected.  The bank saw a reduction in the provision for credit losses and it saw a small gain in the buy of First Community Bank of New Mexico. Average loan growth was 2.4% or 1.1% excluding acquisitions; non-performing assets fell 4.7%.  Book value rose by $0.47 to $14.83 per common share.  Shares closed at $25.56 Monday and the 52-week range is $20.44 to $28.94.

Book value comparisons are often a help, sometimes thay are not.  Some are trading relatively tight to book value while others are at substantial premiums.

 JON C. OGG

We have given a breakdown of what has come about on each and what to expect during the week ahead  if applicable.  You will notice that we did not include any earnings previews this week.  This is the crest of earnings season and we gave a full earnings preview on about 25 major companies reporting this coming week, 11 of which are DJIA components.  We have a separate issue on The Top 5 Analyst Calls of the Week that we released independently over the weekend as well.  There was also enough in research calls specific to biotech and drug companies that we released a Top BioHealth Research Calls of the Week.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-B) (NYSE: BRK-A) was given the “Mr. Moneybags” cover article in Barron’s over the weekend.  The report calls that the billions and billions in new cash coming in from debt repayments and the huge increase in cash flow from operations could lead to a dividend in the next 12 to 18 months if Buffett doesn’t find another elephant of a deal.

Clinical Data Inc. (NASDAQ: CLDA) is back on the radar after the FDA approved its antidepressant drug Viibyrd.  Analysts already see potential peak sales above $2 billion as this antidepressant is believed to not interfere with sexual desire as much as in some rival drugs.  Shares closed at $15.03 on Friday and rose almost 15% to $17.24 in the Friday after-hours session.  The 52-week trading range is $10.87 to $22.39 and the consensus price target is already $29.67 per Thomson Reuters data.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) closed down on Friday after having been up originally after huge blowout earnings.  The ongoing problem is that of the lack of adult supervision.  Some say that making Larry Page CEO is good and that it is time, but with close to a $200 billion market cap there were at least some concerns that Google needs more.  If Apple is a model based upon the Steve Jobs news, something hard to exactly compare on a Apples-to-Googles basis, then the same 6.2% drop from after the news would come to another slide of close to 2% on a static basis.

F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) had a very rough week and shares were  battered after its revenue shortfall and mixed guidance was just nowhere near good  enough to satisfy investors after what had been close to a 200% return in the last year.  Many firms threw in the towel as shares went from almost $140 to under $110 and the stock closed out the week at $109.97 versus a 52-week range of $47.11 to $145.76.  We saw two standout calls actually getting behind the network optimization solutions provider.  F5 was raised to “Outperform” from “Neutral and the price target was raised to $134.00 from $103.00 by Credit Suisse.  The firm called it a buying opportunity and a chance to accumulate shares.  Gleacher & Co. also stepped in and upgraded the rating on F5 to “Buy” from “Hold” with a $130.00 price target due to its market position and due to still well above-market growth even if that growth is decelerating.

MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ: MNKD) was one that felt like no Kind man this week.  The company’s inhalable diabetes treatment called Afrezza was given yet another blow by the FDA. In a complete response letter, the FDA asked for two more tests, which will likely cost more capital than MannKind has available today.  Shares were as high as $9.50 before the pre-halt and before the news hit and shares actually hit $10.00 on Tuesday.  After the halt was released, MannKind opened down close to $5.00 on Thursday and shares closed the week out at $5.76 after having briefly challenged $6.00 on Thursday and Friday.  We knew downgrades would come, and we gave our own detailed outlook over at BioHealthInvestor.com.  Still, there was a standout gutsy call made elsewhere this week from a brokerage and research firm we rarely here about.  A firm called Weeden & Co. upgraded the shares from Hold to Buy and raised the price target from $6.00 to $9.00.  Apparently the only thing at issue was that the firm did not have a sell rating before, although most traders and investors treat a “hold” rating the same as a “sell” rating.  Dangerous times for a dangerous stock, but one gutsy call.

Sterling shares are higher and they have risen despite many changes there in the last 18 months.  Less than three months ago shares were actually trading under $5.50.  Shares were just at $6.80 on Monday before reports were out that Sterling may now be in play.  A 4% gain this morning has shares at $7.78, a high since 2009.  This week’s volume has been elevated with more than 1 million shares a day and an average volume being closer to 1.5 million shares versus about 900,000 shares a day under normal trading circumstances.

The WSJ chimed in this morning with a $825 million value, which would come close to $8.00 per share.  It was back in November that TAC Capital LLC, an investment firm which makes equity, private equity and hedge fund investments, submitted a proposal to nominate directors for election at the 2011 annual shareholder meeting.  Sterling’s announcement of the proposal was that it would review the proposal.

Cullen/Frost has a current market capitalization of about $3.71 billion, while Sterling now sits just under $800 million after the recent gains.  Sterling’s most recent press release indicates total assets of roughly $5.0 billion.  The bank holding company also noted that it operates 56 banking offices in the greater metro areas of Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Ft. Worth, Texas.

Investors do need to be aware of price and value here.  There may be some additional value to unlock, but the value is not likely limitless.  Sterling listed its most recent book value per common share as of September 30, 2010 at $6.15 per share.  It also said that its tangible capital ratio was 9.13% and further noted that all regulatory capital ratios were “in excess of those considered to be well-capitalized.”

Sterling’s somewhat lengthy acquisition list is available on its site.  The question of how high this can fetch boils down to whether or not other regional banking players would want to get into what is currently considered an auction process for Sterling.  The local banks tend to make the most logical sense, but other regional players may want to consider it also.

Sterling has two other trailing securities in warrants and preferred shares under SBIBW and SBIBN.  As with all stories regarding M&A, until an announcement is made they need to be considered as rumors.

JON C. OGG

AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE: AKS) Cut to Sell at UBS.
Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) Cut to Underperform at RBC.
Analog Devices Inc. (NYSE: ADI) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Church & Dwight Co. Inc. (NYSE: CHD) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Cut to Market Perform at Bernstein.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan.
Huntington Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: HBAN) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
LSI Corp. (NYSE: LSI) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
New York Community Bancorp Inc. (NYSE: NYB) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
QLogic Corp. (NASDAQ: QLGC) Cut to Hold at Canaccord Genuity.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank.
Sterling Bancshares Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) Cut to Market Perform at FBR.
Symantec Corporation (NAASDAQ: SYMC) Raised to Buy at Citigroup.
The Talbots Inc. (NYSE: TLB) Cut to Neutral at Nomura; Cut to Neutral at Janney.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

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JON C. OGG

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NYSE: AMD) Cut to Market Perform at JMP Securities.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
China Hydroelectric Corp. (NYSE: CHC) Started as Buy at Roth Capital.
Corning Inc. (NYSE: GLW) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.
Ctrip.com International (NASDAQ: CTRP) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) Raised to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA) Raised to Outperform at Cowen.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Honeywell International Inc. (NYSE: HON) Raised to Outperform at RBC.
Human Genome Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: HGSI) Cut to Hold at Citi; Cut to Underperform at BofA/ML.
KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) Cut to Neutral at Credit Suisse.
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NYSE: NSC) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.
Perfect World Co., Ltd. (NASDAQ: PWRD) Cut to Sell at Citi; Cut to Underperform at Credit Suisse.
SAVVIS Inc. (NASDAQ: SVVS) Raised to Buy at Kaufman Bros.
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) Maintain Underperform but Cut target to $55 at Credit Suisse.
Sina Corp. (NASDAQ: SINA) Started as Buy at Stifel Nicolaus.
Sterling Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBIB) Cut to Perform at Oppenheimer.

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JON C. OGG

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) Raised to Accumulate at Standpoint.
Corinthian Colleges Inc. (NASDAQ: COCO) Cut to Hold at ThinkEquity.
First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) Raised to Buy at UBS.
Genuine Parts Co. (NYSE: GPC) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) Started as Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Matrixx Initiatives Inc. (NASDAQ: MTXX) Raised to Buy at Roth Capital.
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) Maintained Hold but Cut estimates at Citigroup.
Oilsands Quest Inc. (NYSE: BQI) Cut to Hold at Canaccord.
Rosetta Resources Inc. (NASDAQ: ROSE) Raised to Buy at SunTrust.
Sterling Bancshares (NASDAQ: SBIB) Raised To Buy From Neutral By SunTrust
Zep Inc. (NYSE: ZEP) Raised to Buy at Janney.

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JON C. OGG

AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) Started as Underperform at Credit Suisse.
ARM Holdings (NASDAQ: ARMH) Started as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) Raised to Buy at Societe Generale.
Finisar (NASDAQ: FNSR) Raised to Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
Mead Johnson Nutrition (NYSE: MJN) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) Raised to Hold from Sell at Jesup & Lamont.
PMC-Sierra (NASDAQ: PMCS) Cut to Equal Weight at BArclays.
RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) Raised to Overweight at Barclays.
Sterling Bancshares (NASDAQ: SBIB) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer.
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) Raised to Outperform at Baird.

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JON C. OGG

The net proceeds’ use of funds will be for capital expenditures, repayment of debt, working capital, to make acquisitions, and for general corporate purposes.  The bank also noted that it will disclose any proposal to use the net proceeds from any offering of securities in connection with an acquisition in the prospectus supplement relating to such offering.

The company said that it is authorized to issue up to 150,000,000 shares of common stock and up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock; and as of April 9, 2009, it had 73,373,514 shares of common stock and 125,198 shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.

We had put this as our most recent “Special Situation Pick” for our newsletter subscribers back in March, but we already issued the coming out with a couple of weeks when we got our entire move of 40% or more.  We expected this to come as a method to pay back TARP funds and possibly via a large new stakeholder.

No terms and no underwriters of any offering have been shown in the filing.  Shares are down about 3% at $7.28 on the day.  That full SEC filing is here.

JON C. OGG