Should You Be Adding Canara Bank (NSE:CANBK) To Your Watchlist Today?

For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it currently lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

Despite being in the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, many investors still adopt a more traditional strategy; buying shares in profitable companies like Canara Bank (NSE:CANBK). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

Check out our latest analysis for Canara Bank

Canara Bank's Improving Profits

In the last three years Canara Bank's earnings per share took off; so much so that it's a bit disingenuous to use these figures to try and deduce long term estimates. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. To the delight of shareholders, Canara Bank's EPS soared from ₹23.37 to ₹38.95, over the last year. That's a fantastic gain of 67%.

It's often helpful to take a look at earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins, as well as revenue growth, to get another take on the quality of the company's growth. Not all of Canara Bank's revenue this year is revenue from operations, so keep in mind the revenue and margin numbers used in this article might not be the best representation of the underlying business. Canara Bank's EBIT margins are flat but, worryingly, its revenue is actually down. This does not bode too well for short term growth prospects and so understanding the reasons for these results is of great importance.

You can take a look at the company's revenue and earnings growth trend, in the chart below. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check Canara Bank's balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.

Are Canara Bank Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

As a general rule, it's worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Canara Bank with market caps between ₹320b and ₹959b is about ₹66m.

The Canara Bank CEO received total compensation of only ₹3.7m in the year to March 2022. This could be considered a token amount, and indicates that the company does not need to use payment to motivate the CEO - that is often a good sign. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Does Canara Bank Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

For growth investors, Canara Bank's raw rate of earnings growth is a beacon in the night. The fast growth bodes well while the very reasonable CEO pay assists builds some confidence in the board. Based on these factors, this stock may well deserve a spot on your watchlist, or even a little further research. It's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Canara Bank , and understanding these should be part of your investment process.

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.