News

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.

UNITED STATES LIME & MINERALS INC (USLM) is a mid-cap value stock in the Construction - Raw Materials industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 76% to 91% 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: United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. is engaged in lime and limestone operations. The Company is a manufacturer of lime and limestone products and supplying primarily the construction, including highway, road and building contractors; industrial, including paper and glass manufacturers; metals, including steel producers; environmental, including municipal sanitation and water treatment facilities and flue gas treatment processes; roof shingle manufacturers, agriculture and oil and gas services industries. It extracts limestone from its open-pit quarries and underground mines and then processes it for sale as pulverized limestone, aggregate, quicklime, hydrated lime, and lime slurry. The Company operates lime and limestone plants and distribution facilities in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas through its subsidiaries, Arkansas Lime Company, ART Quarry TRS LLC, Colorado Lime Company, Mill Creek Dolomite, LLC, Texas Lime Company, U.S. Lime Company, and others.

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 UNITED STATES LIME & MINERALS INC

USLM Guru Analysis

USLM Fundamental Analysis

SOUTHERN MISSOURI BANCORP INC (SMBC) is a small-cap value stock in the Regional Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 53% to 80% 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: Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and the parent company of Southern Bank (Bank). The Bank is primarily engaged in providing a full range of banking and financial services to individuals and corporate customers in its market areas. The principal business of the Bank consists of attracting retail deposits from the general public and using such deposits along with wholesale funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, (FHLB), and brokered deposits, to invest in one- to-four-family residential mortgage loans, mortgage loans secured by commercial real estate, commercial non-mortgage business loans, construction loans, and consumer loans. These funds are also used to purchase mortgage-backed and related securities (MBS), municipal bonds, and other permissible investments. The Bank conducts its business from its headquarters in Poplar Bluff, as well as about 62 full-service branch offices and three limited-service branch offices.

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 SOUTHERN MISSOURI BANCORP INC

SMBC Guru Analysis

SMBC Fundamental Analysis

HERITAGE INSURANCE HOLDINGS INC (HRTG) is a small-cap value stock in the Insurance (Prop. & Casualty) industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 68% 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: Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. is a property and casualty insurance holding company. The Company primarily provides personal and commercial residential insurance through its insurance company subsidiaries. It is vertically integrated and controls or manages substantially all aspects of insurance underwriting, customer service, actuarial analysis, distribution and claims processing and adjusting. Its subsidiaries include Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company (Heritage P&C), which provides personal and commercial residential property insurance and commercial general liability insurance; Narragansett Bay Insurance Company (NBIC), which provides personal and commercial residential property insurance, and Zephyr Insurance Company (Zephyr), which provides personal residential and wind-only property insurance in Hawaii. The Company provides personal residential insurance in approximately 14 eastern and gulf states and commercial residential insurance in three of those states.

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 HERITAGE INSURANCE HOLDINGS INC

HRTG Guru Analysis

HRTG Fundamental Analysis

ESQUIRE FINANCIAL HOLDINGS INC (ESQ) is a small-cap value stock in the Money Center Banks industry. The rating according to our strategy based on Motley Fool changed from 60% to 87% 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: Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. is a financial holding company, which operates through its subsidiary, Esquire Bank, National Association (the Bank). The Bank is a full-service commercial bank dedicated to serving the financial needs of the legal and small business communities on a national basis, as well as commercial and retail customers in the New York metropolitan market. It offers tailored products and solutions to the legal community and their clients as well as dynamic and flexible payment processing solutions to small business owners, both on a national basis. The Bank also offers traditional banking products for businesses and consumers in its local market area. Its products offered to businesses and consumers include checking, savings, money market, and time deposits, a wide range of commercial and consumer loans, as well as customary banking services. The Bank operates a payment processing platform through third-party Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs).

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 ESQUIRE FINANCIAL HOLDINGS INC

ESQ Guru Analysis

ESQ Fundamental Analysis

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 69% to 83% 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

CFNB Guru Analysis

CFNB Fundamental Analysis

Motley Fool Portfolio

About Motley Fool: Brothers David and Tom Gardner often wear funny hats in public appearances, but they're hardly fools -- at least not the kind whose advice you should readily dismiss. The Gardners are the founders of the popular Motley Fool web site, which offers frank and often irreverent commentary on investing, the stock market, and personal finance. The Gardners' "Fool" really is a multi-media endeavor, offering not only its web content but also several books written by the brothers, a weekly syndicated newspaper column, and subscription newsletter services.

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

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.