Short Interest in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Drops By 25.6%

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,910,000 shares, a drop of 25.6% from the November 15th total of 10,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.5 days. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $124.50. The stock had a trading volume of 436,968 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,076,085. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $93.97 and a 1 year high of $128.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.81.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $1.0522 per share. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 52.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RY. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RY. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702,585 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,141,681,000 after buying an additional 2,901,033 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 165.1% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,896,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,532,000 after buying an additional 1,804,022 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter valued at about $153,217,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,616,000 after acquiring an additional 541,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

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.