Canadian Western Bank (TSX:CWB) is a regional Canadian bank with a focus on Western Canada, although it has been pushing for expansion out east in recent years.
Shares of Canadian Western have climbed 31% in 2019 as of close on October 25. This year has been encouraging for the bank as we look ahead to its fourth quarter results.
In the third quarter, Canadian Western reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.82 compared to $0.75 per share in Q3 2018. This soundly beat analyst expectations. The bank achieved this on the back of 13% annual branch-raised deposit-growth, and 10% annual loan growth.
Canadian Western’s push into Eastern Canada has powered earnings so far this year. It delivered 15% loan growth in Central and Eastern Canada in this past quarter. Central and Eastern Canada managed to account for 38% of Canadian Western’s annual lending growth and make up just over a quarter of its total loan portfolio. Total assets at Canadian Western were up 10% year-over-year to $30.9 billion and total loans also increased 10% to $28.2 billion.
Canadian Western announced an increase in its quarterly dividend payout to $0.28 in the quarter. This represents a 3.3% yield. The bank has now achieved dividend-growth for 27 consecutive years. That stands as one of the longest running streaks among dividend stocks on the TSX.
As far as value is concerned Canadian Western still boasts a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.5 and a price-to-book value of 1.1, which matches up well with its industry peers.
