Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Receives $133.25 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $133.25.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on RY. StockNews.com raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Old Port Advisors increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 18,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 52.0% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 11.9% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 949,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,313,000 after buying an additional 100,900 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 1st quarter worth about $776,000. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 125.1% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY opened at $106.38 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $103.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.76. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $109.51. The firm has a market cap of $150.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.12. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. The firm had revenue of $10.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 50.62%.

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.