Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Raised to Strong-Buy at Barclays

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) was upgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$168.00 to C$165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Cormark increased their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$171.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$162.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$157.00 to C$154.00 in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$172.00 to C$188.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$168.00.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

RY stock opened at C$174.71 on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of C$115.57 and a fifty-two week high of C$175.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$170.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$156.75. The company has a market cap of C$246.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.95 by C$0.31. The business had revenue of C$14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.27 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 28.67%. Equities analysts predict 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total transaction of C$12,320,115.24. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$165.00, for a total value of C$2,475,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,125. This represents a 99.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 144,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,959,265 in the last ninety 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.