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The following are today's upgrades for Validea's Small-Cap Growth Investor model based on the published strategy of Motley Fool. This strategy looks for small cap growth stocks with solid fundamentals and strong price performance.

CALIFORNIA FIRST LEASING CORP (CFNB) is a small-cap value stock in the Consumer Financial Services industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 49% to 76% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: California First Leasing Corp is a non-diversified closed-end investment company. The Company is engaged in leasing and financing capital assets to businesses and other commercial or non-profit organizations. Its portfolio includes leases and loans, such as commercial leases, education, government and non-profit (EGNP) leases, commercial and industrial loans and commercial real estate loans. It provides commercial finance, UniversityLease, K-12, healthcare and government. Its UniversityLease business focuses on the needs of colleges and universities. It provides services to meet the needs of all types of healthcare organizations, including senior and assisted-living facilities, hospitals and related clinics and others. Its K-12 offers lease financing dedicated to serving the needs of K-12 school districts throughout the United States. It specializes in municipal lease financing for state and local municipalities. It finances all types of equipment used by cities.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of CALIFORNIA FIRST LEASING CORP

SUMMIT MATERIALS INC (SUM) is a mid-cap value stock in the Construction - Raw Materials industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 65% to 72% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Summit Materials, Inc. is a vertically integrated materials-based company, which supplies aggregates, cement, ready-mix concrete and asphalt in the United States and British Columbia, Canada. The Company offers customers a single-source provider of construction materials and related downstream products in the public infrastructure, residential and non-residential end markets. The Company has three segments. West segment is comprised of its West and South regions, and includes operations in Texas, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Nevada, Arkansas and British Columbia, Canada. East segment is comprised of its East and Central regions and serves markets extending across the Midwestern and Eastern United States, most notably in Kansas, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Nebraska. Cement segment consists of its Hannibal, Missouri and Davenport, Iowa cement plants and nine distribution terminals along the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Louisiana.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of SUMMIT MATERIALS INC

MIDLAND STATES BANCORP INC (MSBI) is a small-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 49% to 76% based on the firm’s underlying fundamentals and the stock’s valuation. A score of 80% or above typically indicates that the strategy has some interest in the stock and a score above 90% typically indicates strong interest.

Company Description: Midland States Bancorp, Inc. is a diversified financial holding company. Its segments include Banking, Wealth Management, and Other. The Banking segment provides a range of financial products and services to consumers and businesses, including commercial, commercial real estate, mortgage and other consumer loan products; commercial equipment financing; mortgage loan sales and servicing; letters of credit; various types of deposit products, including checking, savings and time deposit accounts; merchant services; and corporate treasury management services. The Wealth Management segment operates under the name Midland Wealth Management, which consists of trust and wealth management products and services, including financial and estate planning, trustee and custodial services, investment management, tax and insurance planning, business planning, corporate retirement plan consulting and administration and retail brokerage services through a nationally recognized third party broker dealer.

The following table summarizes whether the stock meets each of this strategy's tests. Not all criteria in the below table receive equal weighting or are independent, but the table provides a brief overview of the strong and weak points of the security in the context of the strategy's criteria.

Detailed Analysis of MIDLAND STATES BANCORP INC

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About Validea: Validea is aninvestment researchservice that follows the published strategies of investment legends. Validea offers both stock analysis and model portfolios based on gurus who have outperformed the market over the long-term, including Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch and Martin Zweig. For more information about Validea, click here

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