Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Price Target to C$192.00

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) had its price objective decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from C$197.00 to C$192.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on RY. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$176.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$195.00 to C$193.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$180.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

TSE RY opened at C$169.40 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$173.09 and a 200-day moving average price of C$168.83. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of C$130.44 and a 1 year high of C$180.45. The firm has a market cap of C$239.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.76, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $1.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Bank of Canada news, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 1,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$177.09, for a total value of C$272,363.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25 shares in the company, valued at C$4,427.24. This represents a 98.40 % decrease in their position. Also, Senior Officer Graeme Ashley Hepworth sold 308 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$175.12, for a total value of C$53,938.25. Insiders have sold 22,150 shares of company stock worth $3,882,024 in the last three months.

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.