Fact based stock research
National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA)

CA6330671034

How to read the free ranks

For every stock, we judge its performance against its peers and rank it on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the rank, the better the stock performs than its peers. And, we do this for six investment strategies:
Value - shows how good of a value the stock is. Green is "inexpensive"; red is "expensive".

Growth - shows a company's growth potential. Green is "high growth" expected; red is "tough times ahead".

Safety - relates to the amount of debt a company has. Green is low debt level; red is high debt level.

Combined Financial - this isn't an average of the first three ranks but rather a consolidated view across several financial indicators. Green = good; red = tread carefully.

(NEW) Sentiment - quantifies professional analyst ratings and holdings as well as market pulse. Green = positive sentiment; red = skepticism (Only available to Premium Subscribers).

(NEW) 360° View - the ultimate rating with all financial and non-financial indicators.

National Bank of Canada stock research in summary

nbc.ca

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Combined Rank of 14 (worse than 86% compared with investment alternatives), National Bank of Canada (Diversified Banks, Canada) shares have lower financial characteristics compared with similar stocks. Shares of National Bank of Canada are low in value (priced high) with a consolidated Value Rank of 32 (worse than 68% of alternatives), show below-average growth (Growth Rank of 20), and are riskily financed (Safety Rank of 28), which means above-average debt burdens. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: A Combined Rank of 14, is a sell recommendation based on National Bank of Canada's financial characteristics. As the company National Bank of Canada's key financial metrics all exhibit below-average performance, such as low value (Obermatt Value Rank of 32), low growth (Obermatt Growth Rank of 20), and risky financing practices (Obermatt Safety Rank of 28), it is a somewhat questionable stock investment, where the risk of paying too much for the shares is significant, unless the company has an exceptionally bright future. Such poor financial performance sometimes indicates that the company's business is all concentrated in some distant future. This is sometimes the case for high-tech or biotechnology companies. If they own properties that only provide cash flows in the future, the stock may look excessively expensive and risky today. In such cases, the Obermatt Method has limited value as it is based on facts we can observe today. If the facts are all in the future, stock investing becomes guesswork, and this should only be a driver in a limited number of investments that should only amount to a small fraction of a safe portfolio. Obermatt Premium subscribers can further check the stock’s Sentiment Ranks, which also flow into the Obermatt 360° View for investors. ...read more

Latest Obermatt Ranks


360° View^new
Sentiment Rank^new
Value Rank	32
Growth Rank	20
Safety Rank	28
Combined Rank	14

Country	Canada
Industry	Diversified Banks
Index	Human Rights, Renewables Users, TSX Composite
Size class	Large

This stock has achievements: Top 10 Stock.

27-Mar-2025. Stock data may be delayed. Log in or sign up to get the most recent research.

Further information

Multiple opinions. One number.

Analysts rarely agree on a stock’s future. So, who do you believe? Obermatt translates those collective views into a single Sentiment Rank. That plus the financial ranks give you the ultimate 360° View. Sign up to access them.

Why popular stocks have low ratings

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Review the performance ranks of the individual metrics that form each investment strategy.

Research History: National Bank of Canada

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	73	45	40	32
GROWTH
GROWTH	71	71	17	20
SAFETY
SAFETY	39	29	63	28
SENTIMENT
SENTIMENT	66	31	22	^new
360° VIEW
360° VIEW	85	33	23	^new

Most recent update of the stock research: 27-Mar-2025. Financial reporting date used for calculating ranks: 31-Oct-2024. Stock research history is based on the Obermatt Method. The higher the rank, the better National Bank of Canada is in the corresponding investment strategy.
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Combined financial peformance in Detail

RESEARCH HISTORY	2022	2023	2024	2025
VALUE
VALUE	73	45	40	32
GROWTH
GROWTH	71	71	17	20
SAFETY
SAFETY	39	29	63	28
COMBINED
COMBINED	85	39	40	14

Last update of combined financial performance: 27-Mar-2025. Stock analysis on combined financial performance: The higher the rank of National Bank of Canada the better the performance.

Value Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Value Rank of 32 (worse than 68% compared with alternatives), National Bank of Canada shares are more expensive than the average comparable stock. The Value Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with half of the indicators below and half above average for National Bank of Canada. Price-to-Profit (also referred to as price-earnings, P/E) is 55 which means that the stock price compared with what market professionals expect for future profits is lower than for 55% of comparable companies, indicating a good value concerning National Bank of Canada's profit levels. The same is valid for Price-to-Book Capital (also referred to as market-to-book ratio) with a Price-to-Book Rank of 11, which means that the stock price is lower as regards to invested capital than for 11% of comparable investments. On the other hand, Price-to-Sales is less favorable than 75% of alternatives (only 25% of peers have an even less favorable ratio). The same is valid for dividend yield, which is lower than 29% of comparable companies, making the stock more expensive as regards to the company's expected dividend payouts. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Value Rank of 32, is a hold recommendation based on National Bank of Canada's stock price compared with the company's operational size and dividend yields. This is a puzzling picture, because it means that profits are high while dividends are low. Since the stock price is low compared with invested capital but high in respect to expected revenues, it means that the company has more invested capital than peers for generating the same amount of revenue. Since profits are higher, it could be a "cash cow" situation (using the classic Boston Consulting BCG matrix naming convention) where the company is on a downward trend, still living from the profits of past products. As the company pays low dividends, it may harbor the opinion that a turnaround is possible, and it rather invests the cash than pay it out to shareholders, thus sealing the company's fate early. Any investment optimism should only be a buy trigger once thorough research is completed. We recommend further analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks, including the 360° View, before making an investment decision, which is especially important in this case, as the financial indicators are inconclusive. ...read more

VALUE METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)
PRICE VS. REVENUES (P/S)	73	40	27	25
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)
PRICE VS. PROFITS (P/E)	89	69	66	55
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)
PRICE VS. CAPITAL (Market-to-Book)	15	15	11	11
DIVIDEND YIELD
DIVIDEND YIELD	85	80	75	71
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE
CONSOLIDATED RANK: VALUE	73	45	40	32

Last update of Value Rank: 27-Mar-2025. Stock analysis on value ratios: The higher the rank, the lower the value ratio of National Bank of Canada; except for dividend yield where the rank is higher, the higher the yield.

Growth Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Growth Rank of 20 (better than 20% compared with alternatives), National Bank of Canada shows one of the most restricted growth dynamics in its industry. There is little momentum in this company. The Growth Rank is based on consolidating four value indicators, with three out of four indicators below-average for National Bank of Canada. While Sales Growth ranks at 69, professionals currently expect the company to grow more than 69% of its competitors, while all other growth ranks are below the market median. Profit Growth has a rank of 49, which means that, currently, professionals expect the company to grow its profits less than 51% of its competitors, and Capital Growth has a low rank of 4. Historic stock returns were also below average with a current Stock Returns rank of 14 which means that the stock returns have recently been below 86% of alternative investments. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: The overall picture with a consolidated Growth Rank of 20, is a sell recommendation for growth and momentum investors. If revenues are expected to increase, but all other growth indicators are negative, the company may be investing in future growth through means not visible in the balance sheet and thus not reflected in capital growth. The fact that Stock Returns have been below market doesn't mean that much, as it may be due to overly optimistic investor behavior in the past, which has been corrected to a more reasonable level recently. If that were the case, a positive Value Rank would be a reason to invest because the company is still expected to grow, while stock prices are now at a more reasonable level. While momentum is a popular investment factor, the value aspect might be the more important one, in the longer term. We recommend analyzing the stock with Obermatt’s Value, Safety, and Sentiment Ranks to arrive at a 360° View of the stock purchase case, especially since the growth performance isn't stellar here. ...read more

GROWTH METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
REVENUE GROWTH
REVENUE GROWTH	64	79	75	69
PROFIT GROWTH
PROFIT GROWTH	8	52	47	49
CAPITAL GROWTH
CAPITAL GROWTH	93	10	9	4
STOCK RETURNS
STOCK RETURNS	67	79	15	14
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH
CONSOLIDATED RANK: GROWTH	71	71	17	20

Last update of Growth Rank: 27-Mar-2025. Stock analysis on growth metrics: The higher the rank, the higher the growth and returns of National Bank of Canada.

Safety Metrics in Detail

ANALYSIS: With an Obermatt Safety Rank of 28 (better than 28% compared with alternatives), the company National Bank of Canada has financing practices on the riskier side, which means that their overall debt burden is above the industry average. This doesn't mean that the business of National Bank of Canada is also risky, it only means that the company is on the riskier side in respect to bankruptcy in case things turn sour, assuming that public reporting is correct. The Safety Rank is based on consolidating three financing indicators, with just one indicator above average for National Bank of Canada. Liquidity is at 77, meaning the company generates more profit to service its debt than 77% of its competitors. This indicates that the company is safer when it comes to debt service. But Refinancing is riskier at a rank of 21, which means that the portion of the debt that is about to be refinanced is above average. It has more debt in the refinancing stage than 79% of its competitors. Leverage is also high at a rank of 27, which means that the company has an above-average debt-to-equity ratio. It has more debt than 73% of its competitors. ...read more

RECOMMENDATION: With a consolidated Safety Rank of 28 (worse than 72% compared with alternatives), National Bank of Canada has a financing structure that is riskier than that of its competitors. High Leverage (a low Obermatt Leverage Rank) is good in good times, because it usually indicates that shareholders get higher returns. The good Liquidity performance of the company is an indicator that this is the case. However, if you expect an economic downturn, you may stay clear of this stock because they have an above-average debt level that needs refinancing soon. If the company is sailing with good winds, as may be visible from the Growth and Sentiment performance, the refinancing risk may be lower than the low Refinancing rank suggests. ...read more

SAFETY METRICS	2022	2023	2024	2025
LEVERAGE
LEVERAGE	38	28	34	27
REFINANCING
REFINANCING	12	1	24	21
LIQUIDITY
LIQUIDITY	72	85	89	77
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SAFETY	39	29	63	28

Last update of Safety Rank: 27-Mar-2025. Stock analysis on safety metrics: The higher the rank, the lower the leverage of National Bank of Canada and the more cash is available to service its debt.

Sentiment Metrics in Detail

SENTIMENT	2022	2023	2024	2025
ANALYST OPINIONS
ANALYST OPINIONS	n/a	43	28	^new
OPINIONS CHANGE
OPINIONS CHANGE	63	6	54	^new
PRO HOLDINGS
PRO HOLDINGS	36	28	16	^new
MARKET PULSE
MARKET PULSE	96	74	50	^new
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT
CONSOLIDATED RANK: SENTIMENT	66	31	22	^new

Last update of Sentiment Rank: 27-Mar-2025. Stock analysis on sentiment metrics: The higher the rank, the more positive the sentiment for National Bank of Canada.
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