Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: What do you think of the prospects of this pick: BB&T Corp.? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

BB&T Corp., $30.10, symbol BBT on New York (Shares outstanding: 699.8 million; Market cap: $21.1 billion; www.bbt.com), owns Branch Banking and Trust Company, the ninth-largest U.S. bank by deposits. The bank has about 1,830 offices in 12 southeastern states and Washington, D.C. It offers retail banking, brokerage, asset management, mortgage and insurance services. BB&T continued to recover from the recession in 2012, as a pickup in loan demand boosted its interest income and increased its fee-based revenue. Stronger demand for mortgages and insurance services, as well as last year’s $570-million acquisition of Crump Group Inc.’s insurance business, also boosted its fee-based revenue. The bank continues to grow by acquisition, including four purchases in 2011 that added to its branch network in California, Florida, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Continuously buying other businesses adds risk, but BB&T’s outlook is positive. The stock trades as 10.4 times this year’s forecast earnings of $2.90 a share. The shares yield 3.1%. BB&T Corp. is okay to hold. hold…