Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $179.70 and last traded at $179.7160, with a volume of 2343985 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Zacks Research downgraded Royal Bank Of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank Of Canada currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $248.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $161.93.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $13.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.60 billion. Royal Bank Of Canada had a return on equity of 17.12% and a net margin of 15.28%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.62 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 11.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 23rd. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Royal Bank Of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 45.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank Of Canada

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Maseco LLP raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 355.0% during the 1st quarter. Maseco LLP now owns 182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is a diversified financial services company and one of Canada’s largest banks. Founded in 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the firm is now headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients through a network of branches, digital platforms and international offices.

RBC operates across several principal business segments including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor and treasury services, capital markets, and global asset management.