Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on RY. Argus lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Scotiabank upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an equal weight rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a buy rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $133.25.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY stock opened at $109.02 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $109.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $104.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.89. The company has a market capitalization of $154.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. The company had revenue of $10.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.95 billion. Analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 50.62%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,903,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,224,000 after acquiring an additional 105,776 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 117,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,275,000 after acquiring an additional 28,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,823,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $864,610,000 after acquiring an additional 237,410 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

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.