The nation’s largest banks reported strong first-quarter results ahead of analyst estimates. As Barron’s put it, “big banks seem to be sailing through.” Meanwhile, the publication quoted Wells Fargo analyst Mike Mayo as saying that “there is no evidence of a banking crisis.” CNBC’s Steve Liesman tweeted on April 11 that “loans are still 18% above the pre-pandemic level,” and Robin Brooks, a former Goldman Sachs senior economist tweeted that large banks deposit outflows are “normal,” while small bank deposit outflows “have ended.” All of that information, plus the extremely low valuation of many banks and the strong overall U.S. economy, makes this a great time to buy many financial stocks, including many bank stocks.

When it comes to investing in financial stocks, I’m most bullish on the strongest large banks, well-run regional banks that will benefit from the “onshoring” trend, and credit card networks that will get a boost from the strong labor market.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM)

JPMorgan’s (NYSE:JPM) profit soared 52% year over year to $12.6 billion last quarter. Its net interest income jumped 49% YOY to $20.9 billion and its top line increased 25% YOY to $38.3 billion, representing its highest quarterly sales total ever.

Moreover, the bank raised its full-year net interest income guidance to $81 billion from $74 billion. Also noteworthy is that, despite all the hand wringing about consumers’ financial difficulties, the bank’s 30-day delinquency rate was unchanged in March, staying at a low 0.88%.

CEO Jamie Dimon said “the U.S. economy continues to be on generally healthy footings — consumers are still spending and have strong balance sheets, and businesses are in good shape.”

With JPM’s core businesses all performing very well, it is one of the best financial stocks to invest in now.

Additionally, in a note to investors on April 17, Bank of America increased its price target on JPM stock to $158 from $152, citing what it sees as the bank’s “strong execution at the top.”

Given JPM’s strong growth and impressive outlook, its forward price-to-earnings ratio of 10.85x is rather low.

Western Alliance (WAL)

Despite all of the worries over regional banks, Western Alliance (NYSE:WAL) reported very strong first-quarter results on April 18.

The bank’s earnings per share, excluding certain items, rose slightly to $2.30 from $2.22, while its adjusted revenue climbed to $712 million. The value of the loans that the company intends to hold for the long term soared 13% YOY to $5.3 billion.

Although WAL’s deposits did drop 9% YOY, the bank reported that its deposits “quickly stabilized.” The bank is taking multiple steps to grow its insured deposits going forward.

In the wake of the results, investment bank Wedbush upgraded the shares to “outperform” from “neutral” and placed WAL on its Best Ideas List. Wedbush wrote that WAL’s “higher level of insured deposits at 73% should help support [its] deposit levels going forward.”

I remain convinced that, over the longer term, Phoenix-based Western Alliance will benefit from the many factories being built in Arizona.

WAL is trading at a tiny forward price-to-earnings ratio of 4.3x.

American Express (AXP)

Encouragingly, American Express (NYSE:AXP) reported that its “U.S. consumer credit card delinquencies were unchanged” last month at a relatively low 1.1%, while its “U.S. small business card member delinquency rate … also stayed at 1.1%.”

Although American Express’ first-quarter earnings per share came in below analyst estimates, its top line jumped 22%. Moreover, the company’s bottom line was negatively impacted by AXP’s decision to greatly increase its credit loss provisions in case of a recession. Excluding the surge in those provisions, its net income climbed nearly 50% year over year.

Further, investment bank Bernstein named AXP stock as one of its top 12 overall stock picks on March 29. And on April 4, investment bank Oppenheimer identified AXP as its best pick in the credit card space, as the bank expects AXP’s sales to climb nearly 14% this year. Oppenheimer trimmed its price target on AXP to $180 from $182 but kept an “outperform” rating on the shares.

Also making me very bullish on AXP stock is the fact that Barron’s quoted its CEO as saying, at the outset of the banking mini-crisis, that it’s “sort of firing on all cylinders right now,” while 2022 was “the best year in the company’s history.” Worth noting, too, is that, as of the end of last year, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A, NYSE:BRK.B) owned 20% of AXP stock. That’s a big vote of confidence from the Oracle.

AXP stock is changing hands at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 14.5x, versus 30x for Mastercard (NYSE:MA) and 27x for Visa (NYSE:V).

On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.