Banks offer steady growth in turbulent times

Article Excerpt

We continue to recommend that all investors own two to three of Canada’s big five banks, including Bank of Montreal (see page 41). Despite the recent market swings, they should continue to profit from their recent acquisitions and their shift to low-cost online transactions. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $97 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $135.8 billion; Price-to-sales: 3.5; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) is Canada’s largest bank with assets of $1.27 trillion. Royal continues to profit from its November 2015 purchase of Los Angeles-based City National Bank. That firm lends to wealthy individuals and businesses in the entertainment, technology and health-care industries. The bank paid $5.5 billion U.S. in cash and shares for City National. In its fiscal 2018 first quarter, ended January 31, 2018, Royal’s overall earnings fell 0.5%, to $3.01 billion from $3.03 billion a year earlier. But due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 2.0%, to…