Below are the three companies in the Specialized Finance industry with the highest debt to equity ratios. The Debt/Equity ratio measures a company's leverage and a high level often implies that a company has financed much of its growth with debt.

Interactive Brokers ranks highest with a a debt to equity ratio of 11.2. Following is Moody's with a a debt to equity ratio of 4.3. PHH ranks third highest with a a debt to equity ratio of 4.3.

KKR Financial Holdings follows with a a debt to equity ratio of 3.4, and NewStar Financial rounds out the top five with a a debt to equity ratio of 2.5.

SmarTrend recommended that subscribers consider buying shares of KKR Financial Holdings on July 24th, 2012 as our technology indicated a new Uptrend was in progress when shares hit $9.03. Since that recommendation, shares of KKR Financial Holdings have risen 22.6%. We continue to monitor KKR Financial Holdings for any potential shift so investors can protect gains and will alert SmarTrend subscribers immediately.