Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.50.

RY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 110.3% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter worth about $28,000. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of RY opened at $120.74 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $123.95 and a 200-day moving average of $117.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $170.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $93.97 and a 1 year high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a $1.0522 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 52.91%.

About Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses.