Barclays Upgrades Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) to Strong-Buy

Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on RY. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$162.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Cormark boosted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$171.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$168.00 to C$165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$157.00 to C$154.00 in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$171.58.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.0 %

RY stock opened at C$174.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of C$246.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$170.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$156.75. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of C$115.57 and a 1-year high of C$175.32.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.95 by C$0.31. The company had revenue of C$14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.27 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 28.67% and a return on equity of 13.68%. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.31%.

Insider Activity at Royal Bank of Canada

In related news, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.60, for a total value of C$1,646,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,115. This trade represents a 99.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total transaction of C$12,320,115.24. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,959,265.

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.