4 Bargain-Priced Canadian Financial Stocks

If you screen for New York Stock Exchange-traded stocks with price-earnings ratios of less than 20 which pay a dividend of greater than 3%, you find these four Canadian names in the financials sector. With the Shiller price-earnings for the S&P 500 up there at 39, its second-highest level in history, these low-priced equities look like classic value situations.

Bank of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (

BMO, Financial) has a price-earnings ratio of 13.03. Wall Street analysts’ estimates put the forward price-earnings ratio at 15.17. The bank is paying a dividend of $3.31 per share. That comes to a 3.03% annual yield. The financial services company has a relatively low price-book ratio of 1.37.

Earnings per share this year grew at a 6.1% pace. The five-year EPS growth rate is 6.32%. Average daily volume is a relatively light 576,000 shares, probably a bit low for large institutional traders who might require greater liquidity. The GuruFocus.com summary of Bank of Montreal’s financials finds four good signs, four medium warning signs and two severe warning signs.

The Bank of Nova Scotia

The Bank of Nova Scotia (

BNS, Financial)has a price-earnings ratio of 11.25. The company pays a dividend of $2.86 a share for an annual dividend yield of 4.22%. Its price-book ratio is 1.63. This year’s earnings per share are positive, showing an increase of 45.30%.

Over the past five years, their EPS grew by 6.00%. GuruFocus’ financials summary of the bank finds two good signs, four medium warning signs and two severe warning signs. On Dec. 10, the Bank of Nova Scotia filed a prospectus with the SEC indicating its plans to issue new securities.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (

CM, Financial), based in Toronto, has a price-earnings ratio of 10.26. The bank pays a $4.73 per share dividend for a 4.24% annual yield. The price-book ratio is 1.56. Earnings per share this year are up by 69.40%. The past five-year record of EPS growth is positive at 5.40%.

Average daily volume is relatively light at about 499,000 shares. The GuruFocus summary of the financials shows three good signs, three medium warning signs and two severe warning signs. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce also filed a prospectus with the SEC on Dec. 10, showing plans to issue new securities as well.

Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial’s (

MFC, Financial) price-earnings ratio sits at 7.11 right now. The big insurance company, headquartered in Toronto, is paying a $0.89 per share dividend, which comes to a 4.71% yield annually.

Earnings per share are up this year by 6.00%, and over the past five years, the EPS growth rate is 22.80%. The stock trades at a 4% discount to its book value. The GuruFocus financials summary of the company finds four good signs and two medium warning signs.