Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$292.86.

RY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$260.00 to C$300.00 in a report on Friday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$316.00 to C$324.00 in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Desjardins set a C$320.00 price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$310.00 to C$318.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Scotia boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$311.00 to C$312.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Bank of Canada news, insider Kelly Bradley sold 5,142 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$283.07, for a total value of C$1,455,545.94. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$295,242.01. This represents a 83.14% decrease in their position. Also, insider Maria Elena Douvas sold 9,604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$275.20, for a total value of C$2,643,020.80. In the last three months, insiders have sold 104,579 shares of company stock valued at $29,698,322.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of RY stock opened at C$277.25 on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of C$201.14 and a 1-year high of C$306.38. The company has a market capitalization of C$383.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$285.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$273.28.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The financial services provider reported C$4.28 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$18.54 billion for the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 15.92%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.35 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.76 per share. This represents a $7.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.49%.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 101,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 19 million clients in Canada, the U.S.