Investors benefit from well-capitalized TD

Article Excerpt

In response to rising interest rates, TD Bank had to set aside more funds to cover potential loan defaults. However, the bank remains well capitalized, which lets it reward investors with higher dividends and share buybacks. TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $82 is a buy. The lender (Toronto symbol TD; Income-Growth Payer Portfolio; Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $147.6 billion; Dividend yield: 5.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.td.com) is Canada’s second-largest bank by market cap after Royal Bank. It’s also the fifth-largest bank in North America. In all, TD serves 27.5 million retail customers, mainly in Canada and the U.S. Of that total, 12.1 million are regular users of TD’s Internet and mobile banking platforms. In the latest quarter, TD’s retail operations in Canada contributed 48% of its earnings, followed by the U.S. retail division (31%), Wealth Management and Insurance (14%) and Wholesale Banking (1%). The bank’s 12.0% stake in U.S. online brokerage firm Charles Schwab (New York symbol SCHW) provided the remaining 6% of earnings. Unlike…