Topic: How To Invest

TD BANK $51.38 – Toronto symbol TD

TD BANK $51.38 (Toronto symbol TD; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $94.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.td.com) is Canada’s largest bank, with $1.1 trillion of assets. It operates 1,305 branches in the U.S.—compared to 1,166 in Canada—and owns 41.01% of TD Ameritrade (New York symbol AMTD), a leading online brokerage.

Excluding one-time items, TD’s earnings per share rose 4.4% in its fiscal 2015 third quarter, which ended July 31, 2015, to $1.20 from $1.15. Revenue gained 6.6%, to $8.0 billion from $7.5 billion.

The bank’s Canadian and U.S. retail operations are profiting from stronger growth in both loans and deposits. Meanwhile, its focus on customer service and online banking is helping it attract and hold on to depositors. Lower gasoline prices also give consumers more cash to repay loans, cutting TD’s overall loan losses.

The bank just bought U.S. retailer Nordstrom’s $2.2-billion credit card portfolio for an undisclosed sum. Separately, it has agreed to be the exclusive issuer of Nordstrom-branded Visa and private-label credit cards in exchange for a share of these cards’ profits.

The stock trades at 11.3 times the bank’s forecast fiscal 2015 earnings of $4.55 a share. It yields 4.0%.

TD is our #1 safety-conscious buy for 2015.

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