Topic: How To Invest

Pat: Can I have your recommendation on Canadian Western Bank? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Canadian Western Bank, $26.60, symbol CWB on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 78.2 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; www.cwbank.com), offers business and personal banking services across the four western provinces. It’s the biggest Canadian bank headquartered in western Canada and the country’s eighth-largest. The bank’s wholly owned subsidiaries include National Leasing Group Inc., Canadian Western Trust Company, Valiant Trust Company, Canadian Direct Insurance Inc., Adroit Investment Management Ltd. and Canadian Western Financial Ltd. In the three months ended April 30, 2012, Canadian Western Bank’s earnings rose 7.4%, to $39.7 million from $36.9 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were unchanged at $0.52, on more shares outstanding. Net interest income rose 8.6%, to $105.1 million from $96.8 million. Other income fell 1.7%, to $20.3 million from $20.6 million. The stock now trades at 12.5 times the bank’s latest 12 months of earnings. That’s a higher price-to-earnings ratio than all of Canada’s big five banks: Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, CIBC, TD Bank and…