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

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.50.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RY. CIBC raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,548,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $427,589,000 after buying an additional 64,450 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $60,034,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,243,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1,322.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 3,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1,600.9% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,427,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,174 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.5%

RY opened at $125.88 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $102.44 and a fifty-two week high of $128.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $116.95 and a 200-day moving average of $119.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $178.04 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $1.0251 dividend. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.18%.

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.