Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) has earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $142.50.

Several research firms have commented on RY. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Securities cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fulcrum Equity Management acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth $216,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 35,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 98.2% in the third quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 164,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,547,000 after purchasing an additional 81,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,616,000 after purchasing an additional 541,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of RY opened at $125.02 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $123.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $85.02 and a 12-month high of $126.96. The firm has a market cap of $176.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a dividend of $1.028 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.79%.

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.