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Cardinal Financial Corp. (CFNL)

“Headquartered in Virginia, Cardinal Financial Corp. (CFNL) serves the Washington metropolitan area through 27 offices. The company also operates a residential mortgage-lending business with 10 locations and offers trust, brokerage, and asset-management services. Cardinal earns an Overall Quadrix® score of 97, versus an average of 59 for the 288 regional...

“Headquartered in Virginia, Cardinal Financial Corp. (CFNL) serves the Washington metropolitan area through 27 offices. The company also operates a residential mortgage-lending business with 10 locations and offers trust, brokerage, and asset-management services. Cardinal earns an Overall Quadrix® score of 97, versus an average of 59 for the 288 regional banks in our research universe.

“The stock scores above 80 in three key Quadrix categories — Momentum (89), Value (84) and Quality (85). Cardinal posted impressive results in 2011, with per-share earnings up 52% to $0.94. Total assets soared 26%; deposits rose 15%; and loans held for investment increased 16%. On December 31, nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets were a reasonable 0.69%. For 2012, Wall Street expects per-share earnings of $0.95, up 1%. That figure seems low given the company’s operating momentum. Cardinal Financial Corp. is being initiated as a Buy.”

Richard J. Moroney, CFA, Upside, April 2, 2012

Richard Moroney, CFA, is the Editor and Vice President of the Dow Theory Forecasts and Upside investment newsletters. He holds a BS in journalism and economics from Northwestern University, and an MBA in finance/accounting from University of Chicago. He joined the company in 1989 and received the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1992.