Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $156.50.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 36.1% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 7,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,993 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter worth approximately $433,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,027,061,000 after buying an additional 1,991,364 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,729,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,632,000 after buying an additional 54,293 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial LLC increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 163.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 8,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 5,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:RY opened at $118.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.70. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $93.97 and a 12-month high of $128.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $167.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a $1.0522 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 49.76%.

About Royal Bank of Canada

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.