National Bank (TSX:NA) is the sixth and smallest of the Big Six Canadian banks. That said, it remains a powerhouse financial institution in its home province of Quebec. Shares of this bank stock have dropped 2.1% month-over-month as of close on December 13. The bank stock is down 5.2% in the year-to-date period.
This bank released its fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2022 earnings on November 30. National Bank delivered net income of $738 million or $2.08 per diluted share – down 4% from $769 million or $2.17 per diluted share in the previous year. The bank put together a solid performance across its business segments, including net income growth of 13% in Personal and Commercial Banking to $351 million and Wealth Management growth of 24% to $198 million. However, that was offset by a 14% net income decline in its Financial Markets segment and a jump in provisions set aside for credit losses.
For the full year, National Bank achieved net income growth of 8% to $3.38 billion and diluted EPS growth of 9% to $9.61. Like its peers, this Quebec-based bank had a strong start to fiscal 2022 but has found the changing economic environment increasingly challenging. Investors need to prepare for further turbulence for National Bank and the rest of the financial space in the first half of 2023.
National Bank is still a fantastic buy-low target as we count down the final days of 2022. It possesses a favourable price-to-earnings ratio of 9.7. Moreover, it offers a quarterly dividend of $0.97 per share. That represents a solid 4.1% yield.
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