Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: What are your thoughts on Canadian Western Bank? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

Canadian Western Bank, $31.46, symbol CWB on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 78.8 million; Market cap: $2.5 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 October 31, 2012, Canadian Western Bank’s earnings rose 19.8%, to $43.0 million from $35.9 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 14.6%, to $0.55 from $0.48, on more shares outstanding. Net interest income rose 8.0%, to $111.3 million from $103.1 million. Other income rose 47.8%, to $19.9 million from $13.5 million. The stock now trades at 14.1 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 (p/e of 11.1),…