National Bank of Canada

NA-T

It has over a 4% yield. On a valuation basis, it is not that much cheaper. They have diversified into the energy sector and built their wealth management business. It would not be his first pick in the space.

He thinks their plan to expand in Canada only provides limited opportunities. The Canadian economy is not exactly booming. The other banks are growing outside our country. He would look elsewhere in the Canadian space.

It's different from the big banks, because it's based on Quebec, so it's a play on Quebec where the real estate market is hot and the government has delivered five balanced budgets. NA is good for the long-term.

No reason to sell this. Yield pays 4.2% and it is priced competitively vs. the big banks. The ROE has been creeping up a bit. It's a much better bank than years ago, though they do have a lot of oil exposure that they have scaled back.

(A Top Pick Feb 06/18, Up 3%) It was a value play. He is more excited now about the value of BNS-T and CM-T.

(A Top Pick Jan 26/18, Down 2%) Q4 was strong, capping off a great year. They had sector-leading ROE at 18.5%. Still trades at a discount to peers. Earnings will grow 7%, but Canadian debt is a worry. You can buy it now.

Because Canada runs a well-regulated banking oligopoly, he has no doubt that in due time, it will be a 150B company. But it's not worth this now. It's grown up, and is now playing in the big boys sandbox. They've accomplished a lot over the last 10 years. Most importantly, they've improved their ROE, the primary driver of valuation for a bank, and the market has recognized and rewarded this already. Prefers larger, more diversified banks.

(A Top Pick Jan 09/18, Down 6%) Can't control the market. Earnings were up 10% in 2018, dividends were raised twice. You have to own a bank, and this is their preferred one, trading at 9x earnings, grow earnings 6-7% this year. What's not to like?

He thinks NA-T is doing a lot of good things outside of Quebec today. A forgotten sister of the big banks in Canada in an oligopolistic market in Canada. A good company to own.

(A Top Pick Jan 25/18, Down 9%) Banks in general had a rough year. Q4 was very strong for them. Trades at a discount compared to the group. He thinks it is going to grow at 8% annually. Still like it.

It is not that much chapter than TD-T but he seems more risk because they are so Canadian-centric. All the growth in Canadian banks will come from the US. He does not see anything specifically wrong with this one, however.

National Bank vs. Laurentian Bank Laurentian, because their mortgage debacle has dragged down the stock until it's now the cheapest Canadian bank. National isn't trading as much at a discount as its peers (as LB), and it also has the biggest exposure to Canadian oil, which is a red flag.

He likes Canadian banks. NA has done very well. Good management. NA is heavily exposed to Canada, so he prefers TD or BMO because of their US exposure.

A very good bank with better numbers (sometimes) than the big 5. It has a clearing corp that he uses; it settles the back-office trades for most of the independents in Canada, totalling $250 billion that NA settles for. Well-run. Weathered this correction well. Pays a higher dividend than the big 5. A very good hold. Sees no weaknesses.