BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Stock

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from C$165.00 to C$195.00 in a report released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. BMO Capital Markets’ target price suggests a potential upside of 13.58% from the stock’s previous close.

RY has been the topic of several other research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$157.00 to C$154.00 in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$159.50 to C$172.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. TD Securities lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$145.00 to C$150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$162.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$167.08.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at C$171.69 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$169.56 and a 200 day moving average price of C$155.96. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of C$115.57 and a fifty-two week high of C$175.04. The company has a market capitalization of C$242.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.95 by C$0.31. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 28.67%. The firm had revenue of C$14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.27 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total value of C$12,320,115.24. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.60, for a total transaction of C$1,646,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,115. This trade represents a 99.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold 144,770 shares of company stock worth $23,959,265 over the last 90 days.

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.