In Year of Crash, These Bank Stocks Soared

When it comes to banking shares, smaller is better.

First Financial Bankshares(FFIN Quote), Tompkins Financial(TMP Quote), NBT Bancorp(NBTB Quote), SY Bancorp(SYBT Quote) and Arrow Financial(AROW Quote) have outperformed larger financial companies such as Goldman Sachs(GS Quote) and BlackRock(BLK Quote).

First Financial, which carries a "buy" recommendation from TheStreet.com Ratings, is a top performer, based not only on stock performance but also on fundamentals. Focusing on the regional market in Texas, the bank has carved out a profitable niche. Although third-quarter revenue declined 5.57%, the company managed to boost earnings per share by 8.5%, outperforming the industry average and the S&P 500. Gross margins widened to 81.39% from 71.97% a year earlier, and operating margins stretched to 46.06% from 40.71%. ...