Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the ten brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$181.75.

RY has been the topic of several research reports. CIBC upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from C$167.00 to C$168.00 in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$197.00 to C$192.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$192.00 to C$198.00 in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cormark reduced their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$194.00 to C$189.00 in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$197.00 to C$191.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Transactions at Royal Bank of Canada

In other news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 20,304 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$169.67, for a total transaction of C$3,444,896.43. Also, Senior Officer Graeme Ashley Hepworth sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$161.89, for a total value of C$49,862.12. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,836 shares of company stock valued at $10,443,690.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at C$157.82 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of C$131.57 and a twelve month high of C$180.45. The company has a market cap of C$223.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$167.08 and its 200 day moving average is C$170.45.

Royal Bank of Canada Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.49%.

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.