Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Given Consensus Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the eleven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$176.58.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on RY shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$162.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Cormark upped their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$171.00 in a report on Thursday, August 29th. CIBC lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$176.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY opened at C$173.53 on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of C$127.60 and a 1 year high of C$180.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is C$173.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$161.54. The company has a market capitalization of C$244.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Bank of Canada

In other news, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$166.96, for a total transaction of C$1,252,207.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,174.03. This represents a 99.67 % decrease in their ownership of the 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.