Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Analysts

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $142.50.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RY shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RY opened at $123.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $174.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.31. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $124.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a $1.028 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 51.49%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RY. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,898,970,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 32,571,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,310,010,000 after acquiring an additional 5,810,077 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,246,000. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,141,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,033 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at $181,141,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.