PNC, MTB and Wells Fargo Stock Report

In a very competitive banking industry struggling for growth it can be difficult to determine which company to invest in. With interest rates at record lows and banks striving to reduce costs and improve interest rate margins, as rates begin to rise the industry could experience high returns. I will evaluate M&T Bank, PNC and Wells Fargo to determine which bank is the more attractive investment choice.



M&T Bank (MTB)
With its beginnings tracing to 1969, after a name change in 1998 to M&T Corporation the bank has accumulated over 700 branches and over 2,000 ATM's. Their footprint lies in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington D.C. MTB is one of the 20 largest banks in the US the also have the most growth potential of the three banks.

Wells Fargo (WFC)
Is one of the largest banks in the US and one of the largest banks in the world measured by market cap. They have over 9,000 retail branches and over 12,000 ATM's. They are located in 39 states and Washington D.C. Wells Fargo is the largest bank in my report.

PNC Bank (PNC)
With over 2,900 branches and 7,200 ATM's PNC has a presence in 19 different states and in Washington D.C. PNC is the 6th largest bank in the US measured by total assets.


 Looking at the past 5 years performance WFC has performed better than the others with at -2.5% PNC is at -6.54% and MTB the worst at -10.

	WFC	PNC	MTB
Recent price	35.33	65.66	94.08
Market cap	186.62B	34.76B	11.92B
52 week range	22.61 – 36.60	44.74 – 67.75	66.40 – 94.73
Discount from High	3.5%	3.1%	0.1%
Valuation P/E	11.7	13.5	16.9
P/B	1.4	0.9	1.4
P/S	2.3	2.4	2.9
Dividend yield	1.9	2.3%	3.0
ROA (TTM)	1.24	0.91	0.88
ROE	12.37	7.42	8.14
Category Wins	5	1	1

The table above clearly shows that Wells Fargo wins in all but two categories. The data is beginning to reflect why WFC is the larger more successful bank. One explanation may be economies of scale which would work in their favor; the other explanation would be they are the better investment choice.

In conclusion if I was given the three choices above I would invest my money in WFC. They have the better five year track record of performance, appear to be priced relatively cheaper than the other two and have the better profitability ratios "ROE and ROA."

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