Top Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now

There is little doubt that New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB  ) is one of the best-run banks in the country. However, it isn't perfect.

Earlier this month, shareholders in the high-yielding regional bank voted against its executive pay practices. According to a regulatory filing dated June 30, a total of 142.7 million shares rejected its executive compensation plan while only 122.5 million shares voted for it.

Why would shareholders reject NYCB?
At first glance, this seems odd. Led by longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora, New York Community Bancorp was one of the few lenders to emerge from the financial crisis unscathed.

Its financial strength was so undisputed, in fact, that it was able to reject bailout money from the government in 2009. The decision not only protected current shareholders from dilution, it also allowed the bank to continue distributing nearly all of its earnings to shareholders.

5 Best Logistics Stocks To Own Right Now: QEP Resources Inc (QEP)

QEP Resources, Inc. (QEP), incorporated on May 17, 2010, is a holding company. The Company operates in three lines of business: gas and oil exploration and production, midstream field services, and energy marketing. It conducted through three principal subsidiaries: QEP Energy Company (QEP Energy) acquires, explores for, develops and produces natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGL); QEP Field Services Company (QEP Field Services) provides midstream field services, including natural gas gathering, processing, compression and treating services for affiliates and third parties; andQEP Marketing Company (QEP Marketing) markets affiliate and third-party natural gas and oil, provides risk-management services, and owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir. QEP operates in the Northern and Southern Regions of the United States and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Principal offices are located in Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and Tulsa, Oklahoma.

QEP�� exploration and production business is conducted through QEP Energy in two core regions, the Northern Region (including the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota) and the Southern Region (including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana). QEP Energy has approximately 50,800 net acres of Haynesville Shale lease rights in northwest Louisiana and additional lease rights that cover the Hosston and Cotton Valley formations. The depth of the top of the Haynesville Shale ranges from approximately 10,500 feet to 12,500 feet across QEP Energy�� leasehold and is below the Hosston and Cotton Valley formations that QEP Energy has been developing in northwest Louisiana for over a decade. As of December 31, 2011, QEP Energy had three operated rigs drilling in the project area. QEP Energy�� Midcontinent properties cover all properties in the Southern Region except the Haynesville/Cotton Valley area of northwest Louisiana and are distributed over an area, including the ! Anadarko Basin of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle. QEP Energy has approximately 77,000 net acres of Woodford Shale lease rights in western Oklahoma. QEP Energy has approximately 38,700 net acres of Granite Wash/Atoka Wash lease rights in the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma and has been drilling vertical Granite Wash/Atoka Wash wells. The Company estimates that up to 1,100 additional wells will be required to fully develop its Pinedale acreage on a combination of 5 and 10-acre density. In addition to QEP Energy�� gross producing wells, QEP Energy had an overriding royalty interest in an additional 21 wells at Pinedale. QEP Energy owns interests in approximately 255,200 net leasehold acres in the Uinta Basin. The remainder of QEP Energy Northern Region leasehold interests, productive wells and proved reserves are distributed over a number of fields and properties managed as the Rockies Legacy division. Exploration and development activity during the year ended December 31, 2011, includes wells in the Powder River and Greater Green River Basins in Wyoming and the Williston Basin in North Dakota. QEP Energy has approximately 90,000 net acres of lease rights in the Williston Basin in western North Dakota, where the Company is targeting the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

QEP Energy Company

QEP Energy is actively involved in several of North America�� hydrocarbon resource plays. QEP�� exploration and production activities are conducted through QEP Energy. P Energy operates in two core regions: the Northern Region (including the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and North Dakota) and the Southern Region (including the states of Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana). The Southern Region contributed approximately 56% of 2011 production while the Northern Region contributed the remaining 44%. QEP Energy reported 3,614 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent of estimated proved reserves as of December 31, 2011. Of those estimated proved reserves, approximately 64%! , or 2,31! 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent, were located in the Northern Region at December 31, 2011. The remaining 36%, or 1,302 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent at December 31, 2011, were located in the Southern Region. QEP Energy has an inventory of identified development drilling locations, primarily on the Pinedale Anticline in western Wyoming; the Haynesville/Cotton Valley area in northwestern Louisiana; the Midcontinent area with properties primarily in Oklahoma and Texas; the Uinta Basin in eastern Utah, and the Rockies Legacy, which includes the Bakken/Three Forks area in western North Dakota and other properties in Wyoming.

QEP Field Services Company

QEP invests in midstream (gathering, processing and treating) systems to complement its natural gas, oil and natural gas liquids (NGL) operations in regions where QEP Energy has production. In addition, QEP�� midstream business also provides midstream services to third-party customers, including independent producers. QEP Field Services owns various natural gas gathering, treating and processing facilities in the Northern and Southern Regions as well as 78% of Rendezvous Gas Services, LLC, (RGS), a partnership that operates gas gathering facilities in western Wyoming. The FERC-regulated Rendezvous Pipeline Co., LLC (Rendezvous Pipeline), a wholly owned subsidiary of QEP Field Services, operates a 21-mile, 20-inch-diameter pipeline between QEP Field Services��Blacks Fork gas-processing plant and the Muddy Creek compressor station owned by Kern River Gas Transmission Co. (Kern River Pipeline). RGS gathers natural gas for Pinedale Anticline and Jonah Field producers for delivery to various interstate pipelines. QEP Field Services also owns 38% of Uintah Basin Field Services, LLC (UBFS) and 50% of Three Rivers Gathering, LLC (Three Rivers). These two partnerships operate natural gas gathering facilities in eastern Utah.

QEP Marketing Company

QEP Marketing provides wholesale market! ing and s! ales of affiliate and third-party natural gas, oil and NGL. As a wholesale marketing entity, QEP Marketing concentrates on markets in the Rocky Mountains, Pacific Northwest and Midcontinent that are either close to affiliate reserves and production or accessible by pipelines. QEP Marketing contracts for firm-transportation capacity on pipelines and firm-storage capacity at Clay Basin, a baseload-storage facility. QEP Marketing, through its subsidiary Clear Creek Storage Company, LLC, owns and operates an underground gas-storage reservoir in southwestern Wyoming. QEP Marketing uses owned and leased storage capacity together with firm-transportation capacity.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP  ) is letting its dividend flow. The company has declared a quarterly payout of $0.02 per share, to be paid on June 22 to shareholders of record as of June 3. That amount is in line with all of the firm's previous distributions stretching back to the first one it handed out in September 2010.

• [By Claudia Assis]

  Top gainers among energy companies on the S&P 500 index included Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD) , with shares up 3.5%. QEP Resources Inc. (QEP) �shares advanced 2.7%.

• [By Dimitra DeFotis]

  Sterne Agee said in July research that operators with Bakken-formation leverage, including Oasis, Superior Energy Services�(SPN),�Whiting Petroleum (WLL) and QEP Resources (QEP),�“have improved their communication with Wall Street and appropriately managed expectations for the impact that flooding in North Dakota could have on second-quarter earnings.” �See Barron’s Investor’s Soapbox PM�for�July 17, subscription required.)

Top Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Legg Mason Inc. (LMI)

LMI Aerospace Inc. provides structural assemblies, kits and components, and design engineering services to the aerospace and defense markets in the United States. The company�s Aerostructures segment fabricates, machines, finishes, integrates, assembles, and kits machined and formed close tolerance aluminum, specialty alloy, composite components, and assemblies. Its products include wing slats and flap skins/components, and ailerons; winglet edges and modification kits; fuselage and wing skins; wing panels; helicopter cabin and aft section components; tail cone and edge assemblies; thrust reversers and engine nacelles/cowlings; door components, assemblies, and floor beams; cockpit window frames and landing light lens; and cockpit crew floor and bulkhead structure assemblies. This segment also provides wheel well and electronic rack assemblies; interior components; structural sheet metal, machined, milled, and extruded components; housings and assemblies; auxiliary power u nit components; fans and heat exchangers; ProWall engineered containers; and assemblies and components for rail yard switching equipment. Its Engineering Services segment offers engineering design, analysis, repair, certification, and program management services. This segment provides structural design and analysis services, including wing/wingbox, fixed and moveable leading edges/trailing edges, empennage, and tail cone design; winglet/wing mod design; nacelle, engine cowl, and thrust reverser design; weight improvement engineering; helicopter fuselage, cockpit, cabin frames, skins, longerons, and beams; and aircraft modification engineering services. It also offers systems design and integration, tool design and fabrication, manufacturing engineering, after-market engineering and support, aviation training system, and aviation maintenance engineering; and aviation system software engineering services. LMI Aerospace Inc. was founded in 1948 and is based in St. Charles, Miss ouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Lonmin Plc (LMI) jumped 2.8 percent to 295 pence, extending its biggest weekly rally in almost four months. Morgan Stanley upgraded the shares to overweight from equal weight, meaning that investors should buy more of the shares. The brokerage described their valuation as attractive.

Top Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: International Speedway Corporation(ISCA)

International Speedway Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, promotes motorsports themed entertainment activities in the United States. The company?s motorsports themed event operations consist of racing events at its motorsports entertainment facilities. Its motorsports entertainment facilities promoted approximately 100 stock car, open wheel, sports car, truck, motorcycle, go-kart racing, and other racing events. The company is also involved in souvenir merchandising operations; food and beverage concession operations; the provision of catering services in suites and chalets; creation of motorsports-related programming content, including national satellite radio service; the usage of its track facilities for testing for teams, driving schools, riding experiences, car shows, auto fairs, concerts and settings for television commercials, print advertisements, and motion pictures; and rents show cars for promotional events. As of November 30, 2011, it owned and/or op erated 13 motorsports entertainment facilities. The company was formerly known as Daytona International Speedway Corporation and changed its name to International Speedway Corporation in 1968. International Speedway Corporation was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  International Speedway (NASDAQ: ISCA) is estimated to post a Q3 loss at $0.01 per share on revenue of $118.60 million.

  IDT (NYSE: IDT) is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.28 per share on revenue of $397.40 million.

Top Regional Bank Stocks To Invest In Right Now: Hallador Energy Company(HNRG)

Hallador Energy Company, through its subsidiary, Sunrise Coal, LLC, engages in the production and sale of steam coal in the United States. It owns interests in the Carlisle mine, an underground coal mine located in western Indiana. The company also owns a 45% equity interest in Savoy Energy, L.P., an oil and gas company with operations in Michigan; and a 50% interest in Sunrise Energy LLC, an entity engaged in natural gas operations. As of December 31, 2010, it had approximately 46.7 million tons of recoverable coal reserves. The company was formerly known as Hallador Petroleum Company and changed its name to Hallador Energy Company in December 2009. Hallador Energy Company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on Hallador Energy (Nasdaq: HNRG  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

• [By John Udovich]

  Obama�� war on coal has claimed another victim as James River Coal Company (NASDAQ: JRCC) files for Chapter 11, but coal stocks Westmoreland Coal Company (NASDAQ: WLB), Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: ARLP) and Hallador Energy Co (NASDAQ: HNRG) have still managed to put in a decent performance for investors���despite the industry headwinds coming from the White House. Just consider this: By 2025, 300 of America�� coal plants will close due to EPA policies for a total of 44,000 megawatts of generating capacity in 33 states to be taken off line. Moreover, Democrats have been putting up roadblocks to stop coal exports���one potential industry bright spot as the US�has the largest coal repository in the world.