Royal expands on both sides of the border

Article Excerpt

Royal Bank of Canada $47 (Toronto symbol RY Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $61.1 billion; SI Rating: Above average) Royal Bank is expanding its wealth management operations. In Canada, it has agreed to acquire Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd., which has $69 billion in assets under management. Royal will pay roughly $1.3 billion in stock. In the United States, Royal has agreed to buy banking and investment firm Washington D.C.-based Ferris, Baker Watts, Inc. The bank did not reveal the price, but Ferris has $18.5 billion U.S. in assets under administration. These purchases will increase Royal’s assets under management by roughly 50%. Meanwhile, Royal earned $0.95 a share (total $1.2 billion) in the three months ended January 31, 2008, down 16.7% from $1.14 a share ($1.5 billion) a year earlier. The latest earnings included a $187 million writedown of securities backed by U.S. subprime mortgages. Revenue fell 1.7%, to $5.7 billion from $5.8…