Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks To Own Right Now

SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI  ) is the holding company and publicly traded side of SunTrust Bank, one of the country's biggest regional banks. SunTrust primarily does three kinds of banking: consumer banking and private-wealth management; wholesale banking; and mortgage banking.

SunTrust puts up some impressive numbers, but there is at least one thing to watch out for. Thinking about investing in SunTrust? Here are seven things you need to know:

1. SunTrust is bigger than you think
Go out to the Federal Reserve's National Information Center, and you'll see that SunTrust is the country's 17th biggest bank-holding company, ahead of both American Express and Deutsche Bank. Size doesn't mean anything in and of itself, but used skillfully, size can help generate revenue and profit far beyond that of a smaller rival.

Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Herman Miller Inc.(MLHR)

Herman Miller, Inc. engages in the research, design, manufacture, and distribution of interior furniture systems, products, and related services worldwide. It also provides modular systems under the Action Office, Canvas Office Landscape, Ethospace, Resolve, My Studio Environments, and Vivo Interiors brand names; seating products under the Embody, Aeron, Mirra, Setu, Celle, Equa, and Ergon brand names; and storage products under the Meridian and Tu brand names. In addition, the company offers wooden casegoods under the Geiger brand name; freestanding furniture products under the Abak, Intent, Sense, and Envelop brand name; and ergonomic solutions. It markets its products for office, healthcare, industrial, educational, and residential settings through its sales staff, own dealer network, independent dealers and retailers, and independent contract office furniture dealers, as well as through Internet. The company was founded in 1905 and is based in Zeeland, Michigan.

Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: W&T Offshore Inc.(WTI)

W&T Offshore, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas producer, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. The company holds working interests in approximately 58 producing and 2 capable of producing offshore fields in federal and state waters. As of December 31, 2011, it had interests in offshore leases covering approximately 0.8 million gross acres in the coasts of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as onshore leasehold interest in approximately 0.2 million gross acres in Texas; proved reserves of 116.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe); and proved undeveloped reserves of 40.5 MMBoe. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Top Construction Material Stocks To Own For 2014: (AUNFF)

Aurcana Corporation, junior mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of natural resource properties in Mexico and the United states. The company primarily explores for silver, copper, zinc, and lead. It holds approximately 92% interests in La Negra property located in the state of Queretaro, Mexico; and 100% indirect interest in Shafter silver mine located in Presidio County, southwest Texas. The company was formerly known as Cane Corporation and changed its name to Aurcana Corporation in June 1996. Aurcana Corporation was incorporated in 1917 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Christopher Barker]

  Aurcana enters 2012 with a remarkable production surge in the works. The company anticipates first production from the Shafter mine in Southwest Texas in May of this year, with 3.8 million ounces of low-cost silver output slated for the mine's first 12 months of commercial output. Given the simultaneous 33% expansion of the mill at Aurcana's producing La Negra mine in Mexico -- targeted for completion in March 2012 -- I see strong potential for Aurcana to approach 6 million ounces of silver-equivalent production during 2013. From a current production profile of about 1.7 million SEOs per year, a 250% surge within a two-year span represents one of the industry's most exciting near-term growth trajectories.

  According to the current mine plan, Shafter is a short-lived operation that would only support peak output for the first two years before dwindling down to 2 million ounces by the fifth year of operation. However, the Shafter deposit remains open along strike to potential expansion in two directions from the adjoined historical and modern orebodies. In its former incarnation as the Presidio mine, Shafter produced some 35 million ounces of silver between 1883 and 1942. I have learned to never underestimate the potential for modern exploration to yield meaningful expansion of historically significant orebodies.

  I consider the La Negra asset prospective for further expansion as well; 83% of third-quarter production came from new discoveries or resources not included within the existing resource estimate. Recent drill results look encouraging, and an updated resource estimate expected during the current quarter offers investors another potential catalyst for share-price advancement during 2012.

Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: Winmark Corporation(WINA)

Winmark Corporation operates as a franchisor of four retail store concepts that buy, sell, trade, and consign merchandise. The company franchises retail stores under the ?Plato?s Closet? name that sell and buy used clothing and accessories geared toward the teenage and young adult market; and under the ?Play It Again Sports? name, which sell, buy, trade, and consign used and new sporting goods, equipment, and accessories for various athletic activities, including hockey, wheeled sports, fitness, ski/snowboard, golf, and baseball/softball. It engages in franchising ?Once Upon A Child? branded retail stores that sell and buy used and new children?s clothing, toys, furniture, equipment, and accessories; and ?Music Go Round? branded retail stores that sell, buy, trade, and consign used and new musical instruments, speakers, amplifiers, music-related electronics, and related accessories for parents of children who play musical instruments, as well as for professional and amateur musicians. In addition, the company operates a middle-market equipment leasing business focusing on technology-based assets to serve large and medium-sized businesses; and a small-ticket financing business to serve small businesses. Further, it offers management services to Tomsten, Inc. As of September 24, 2011, the company had 923 franchises in operation. Winmark Corporation was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Top 5 Regional Bank Stocks To Own Right Now: LNB Bancorp Inc.(LNBB)

LNB Bancorp, Inc. operates as the holding company for The Lorain National Bank that provides commercial and retail banking, investment management, and trust services to individual, municipal, and corporate customers in Ohio. It offers various transaction and time deposit accounts, including demand deposits, interest-bearing checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, consumer time deposits, public time deposits, and brokered time deposits, as well as cash management services. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans, construction and equipment loans, letters of credit, revolving lines of credit, small business administration loans, and government guaranteed loans; and residential mortgages, direct and indirect automobile loans, personal loans, second mortgages, and home equity lines of credit. In addition, it offers safe deposit boxes, night depository, U.S. savings bonds, travelers? checks, money orders, cash iers checks, automated teller machines (ATMs), debit cards, wire transfers, electronic funds transfers, and foreign drafts, as well as foreign currency, phone and Internet banking, and lockbox services. Further, the company provides bank-owned life insurance, as well as title insurance. It operates through 20 retail-banking locations and 30 ATMs in Lorain, Erie, Cuyahoga, and Summit counties in the Ohio communities of Lorain, Elyria, Amherst, Avon, Avon Lake, LaGrange, North Ridgeville, Oberlin, Olmsted Township, Vermilion, Westlake, and Hudson, as well as a business development office in Cuyahoga County. The company was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Lorain, Ohio.