Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as C$176.27 and last traded at C$175.69, with a volume of 129360 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$175.77.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on RY. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of 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. Desjardins upped their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$156.00 to C$163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. 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. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$176.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$175.92.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is C$170.42 and its 200-day moving average is C$157.50. The firm has a market cap of C$247.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of C$14.27 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 28.67% and a return on equity of 13.68%. On average, analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a dividend of $1.42 per share. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 50.31%.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Bank of Canada news, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 7,500 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$166.96, for a total transaction of C$1,252,207.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$4,174.03. The trade was a 99.67 % decrease in their position. Also, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total value of C$12,320,115.24. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,959,265.

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.