Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 10,560,000 shares, a decrease of 14.5% from the January 31st total of 12,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,050,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 10.1 days. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Securities cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 3.5 %

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $112.74 on Wednesday. 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 12-month low of $95.84 and a 12-month high of $128.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $119.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.66.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $1.0251 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.73%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RY. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.5% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Ruggaard & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Ruggaard & Associates LLC now owns 4,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 426 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.4% in the third quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

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.