Shares of Canadian Western Bank jumped $1.95 apiece or 5.6 per cent to close at a record high of $36.61 Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, after the Edmonton-based bank reported stellar net earnings for the fourth quarter and full year.
Trading volume was heavy, with more than 884,000 shares changing hands.
Late Wednesday, the bank reported diluted net earnings per share for the fourth quarter reached 64 cents, up 16 per cent compared to the prior-year period. For the full year, diluted net earnings per share rose six per cent to $2.35. Both were new record highs.
Meanwhile, shares of engineering consulting giant Stantec Inc., Edmonton’s largest publicly traded company, had another strong day Thursday. The shares rose 68 cents apiece or nearly one per cent to close at $71.17, just a hair below their record high.
Stantec’s shares have risen more than 70 per cent since the year began, boosting the company’s market capitalization to $3.3 billion. That’s $400 million higher than the $2.9 billion market cap of Canadian Western Bank, Edmonton’s second-largest publicly traded company.
