Scotiabank 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 stock analysts at Scotiabank from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Scotiabank’s price objective points to a potential upside of 12.79% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Cormark upped their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$171.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Desjardins increased their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$156.00 to C$163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$162.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$165.00 to C$195.00 in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$175.92.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.5 %

RY opened at C$174.66 on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of C$115.57 and a twelve month high of C$175.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$170.24 and a 200 day moving average price of C$157.25. The company has a market cap of C$246.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$2.95 by C$0.31. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 28.67% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The company had revenue of C$14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.27 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$166.96, for a total value of C$1,252,207.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,174.03. This trade represents a 99.67 % decrease in their position. Also, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total transaction of C$12,320,115.24. Insiders have sold a total of 144,770 shares of company stock worth $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.