Topic: How To Invest

Pat: I would like to ask for your opinion on the following stock: Canadian Western Bank. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Canadian Western Bank, $29.75, symbol CWB on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 75.7 million; Market cap: $2.3 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 its fiscal first quarter ended January 31, 2012, Canadian Western Bank’s earnings rose 9.6%, to $41.5 million from $37.9 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 1.8%, to $0.55 from $0.56, on more shares outstanding. Net interest income rose 6.5%, to $104.9 million from $98.5 million. Other income fell 6.7%, to $18.8 million from $20.1 million. Canadian Western Bank now trades at 13.8 times its latest 12 months of earnings. That’s a higher price-to-earnings ratio than three of Canada’s big five banks: Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and…