10 Bank Dividend Stocks: 2010 Roundup

8. People's United Financial

Company Profile

Shares of People's United Financial (PBCT) of Bridgeport, Conn. closed at $14.01 Monday, down 12% year-to-date. Based on a quarterly payout of 16 cents, the shares have a dividend yield of 4.43%.

On December 1, People's United completed the acquisition of LSB Corp. for $94.8 million in cash. LSB held River Bank of North Andover, Mass., and had $780 million in total assets and seven branches.

On the same day, People's United also paid $56.4 million in cash and stock to acquire acquired Smithtown Bancorp of Hauppauge, N.Y., which had 31 branches and total assets of $2.3 billion.

These acquisitions followed the company's purchase of Financial Federal Corporation in February for $699 million in cash and stock. Financial Federal had $1.3 billion in total assets and specialized in collateralized lending and leasing to small businesses. People's United also purchased the failed Butler Bank of Lowell, Mass. from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in April. Butler Bank had four branches and $268 million in assets.

Income Statement

Third-quarter net income was $24.1 million, or 7 cents a share, compared to $26.8 million, or 8 cents a share a year earlier. The third-quarter provision for loan losses was $21.8 million, increasing slightly from $21.5 million in the third quarter of 2009. Third-quarter results included $5.3 million in expenses related to the mergers and systems conversions, as well as other one-time charges.

The net interest margin was 3.73% during the third quarter, rising from 3.19% a year earlier.

With overall earnings performance suffering from the merger and conversion expenses and the provision for loan losses remaining at an elevated level, People's United's third-quarter ROA was a mediocre 0.44% and its dividend payout ratio was 221%, which was by far the highest payout ratio among the companies listed here. Then again, with a very strong capital war chest, a high payout ratio is not a concern for the company.

Balance Sheet

Total assets were $21.9 billion as of September 30. For main subsidiary People's United Bank, the nonperforming assets ratio was 1.85%, rising from 1.10% a year earlier. The banking subsidiary's the third-quarter net charge-off ratio was 057% and reserves covered 1.01% of total loans as of September 30.

The banking subsidiary's Tier 1 leverage ratio was 13.00% and the total risk-based capital ratio was 16.40% as of September 30. The holding company's tangible common equity ratio was a very strong 17.85% as of September 30 according to SNL Financial.

Stock Ratios

The shares trade for 1.4 times tangible book value according to SNL Financial and 25 times the 2011 consensus earnings estimate of 55 cents a share. The forward P/E declines to 19, based on the 2012 consensus earnings estimate of 75 cents a share.

Analyst Ratings

Out of 15 analysts covering People's United, eight rate the shares a buy, while the other seven analysts recommend investors hold the shares.

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