Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $133.25.

Several research analysts have recently commented on RY shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Argus upped their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE RY opened at $112.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $159.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $108.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.35. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $113.11.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The firm had revenue of $10.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RY. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.