6 Bank and Mortgage Finance Stocks to Foreclose

Like I told you last month , the understatement of the century is that the
mortgage crisis has been hard on banks the implosions of Lehman Brothers and
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) are prime examples of this. Its not getting any
easier for these troubled thrifts because some of the same companies that I told
you about in November are still on my list of stocks to get rid of in December.
I watch more than 5,000 publicly traded companies with my Portfolio Grader tool,
ranking companies by a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. And this
week, I have six thrifts and mortgage finance stocks to sell. Here they are, in
alphabetical order. Each one of these stocks gets a "D" or "F" according
to my research, meaning it is a "sell" or "strong sell." Astoria
Financial (NYSE: AF ) is a unitary savings and loan association. AF stock has
dipped 38% year-to-date, compared to a gain of almost 6% for the Dow Jones in
the same period. AF gets an "F" for sales growth, a "D" for earnings
growth, an "F" for earnings momentum, an "F" for its ability to exceed
the consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street and a "D" for the magnitude
in which earnings projections have increased over the past month in my Portfolio
Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of AF stock. First
Niagara Financial Group (NASDAQ: FNFG ) is a provider of numerous retail and
commercial banking and other financial services. Year-to-date, FNFG tock has
slid nearly 38%. FNFG stock gets a "D" for operating margin growth, a
"D" for earnings growth, a "D" for earnings momentum, a "D" for its
ability to exceed the consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street, a "D" for
the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the past month
and a "D" for cash flow in my Portfolio Grader tool. For more information,
view my complete analysis of FNFG stock. Hudson City Bancorp (NASDAQ: HCBK ) is
a holding company for its principal subsidiary, Hudson City Savings Bank. Since
the start of 2011, HCBK stock has slid 51%. HCBK stock gets an "F" for sales
growth, an "F" for operating margin growth, a "D" for earnings growth,
an "F" for its ability to exceed the consensus earnings estimates on Wall
Street, an "F" for the magnitude in which earnings projections have
increased over the past month and an "F" for sales growth in my Portfolio
Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of HCBK stock .
MGIC Investment (NYSE: MTG ) is a provider of private mortgage insurance.
MTG's 2011 performance has been abysmal, down 65% in the last 12 months. MTG
stock gets an "F" for sales growth, an "F" for earnings momentum, an
"F" for the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the
past month, an "F" for cash flow and an "F" for return on equity in my
Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of MTG
stock . New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYB ) is a bank holding company that
makes multifamily mortgage loans. Since Jan. 1, NYB stock has slipped 34%. NYB
gets an "F" for sales growth, a "D" for operating margin growth, a
"D" for earnings growth and a "D" for its ability to exceed the
consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street in my Portfolio Grader tool. For
more information, view my complete analysis of NYB stock . Radian Group (NYSE:
RDN ) is a credit enhancement company and is the biggest loser on this list. RDN
stock is down an astonishing 72% year-to-date. RDN stock gets an "F" for
sales growth, an "F" for cash flow and an "F" for return on equity in my
Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of RDN
stock . Get more analysis of these picks and other publicly traded stocks with
Louis Navellier's Portfolio Grader tool, a 100% free stock rating tool that
measures both quantitative buying pressure and eight fundamental factors.