There’s no question it has been a rough earnings week so far for big U.S. banks.
Bank of America Corp BAC 1.18%, Citigroup Inc C 0.8% have all reported earnings this week, and shares of each stock are trading down.
However, two big names in the world of Wall Street believe that one of these four banks stands out from the crowd.
Cream Of The Crop
On Thursday, Jim Cramer reiterated his opinion that Wells Fargo is the bank to own of this bunch.
While Cramer believes that the continuation of the low interest rate environment could make things worse on all big banks (including Wells Fargo) in the near term, interest rates will inevitably rise eventually, he said.
What Sets Wells Apart
At first glance, it’s hard to understand what sets Wells Fargo apart from all the other big American banks since the financial crisis.
However, this chart tells a major part of the story: One look at the big banks’ tangible book values shows just how much Wells Fargo has outgrown its peers over the past decade in terms of assets.
The Biggest Shareholder
Perhaps Wells Fargo’s biggest fan is none other than Warren Buffett himself.
Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE: BRK-B)’s largest holding is Wells Fargo, a stake that’s worth a staggering $23.5 billion.
Back in March 2011, Buffett pledged his long-term commitment to Wells Fargo on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “If they closed the stock market for 10 years and we owned Coca-Cola and Wells Fargo and some other businesses, it wouldn’t bother me.”
Less than four years into Buffett’s hypothetical decade-long commitment, Wells Fargo stock is up more than 60 percent.
Read this article and all my other articles for free on Benzinga by clicking here
Want to learn more about the stock market? Or maybe you just want to be able to look sophisticated in front of your coworkers when they ask you what you are reading on your Kindle, and you’d prefer to tell them “Oh, I’m just reading a book about stock market analysis,” rather than the usual “Oh, I’m just looking at pics of my ex-girlfriend on Facebook.” For these reasons and more, check out my book, Beating Wall Street with Common Sense. I don’t have a degree in finance; I have a degree in neuroscience. You don’t have to predict what stocks will do if you can predict what traders will do and be one step ahead of them. I made a 400% return in the stock market over five years using only basic principles of psychology and common sense. Beating Wall Street with Common Sense is now available on Amazon, and tradingcommonsense.com is always available on your local internet!
