Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $137.67.

Several research firms have recently commented on RY. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $101.81 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.51. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $103.88. The company has a market capitalization of $144.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.31%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RY. Cigna Investments Inc. New raised its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 26,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,661,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 5,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 17,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.2% in the first quarter. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC now owns 12,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 4.4% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

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.