Short Interest in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Declines By 25.6%

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,910,000 shares, a drop of 25.6% from the November 15th total of 10,630,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.5 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,141,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,033 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,834,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702,585 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,706,833,000 after purchasing an additional 124,348 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,127,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,274,000 after buying an additional 256,023 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,150,000 after acquiring an additional 190,341 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

Shares of NYSE RY traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $124.46. The company had a trading volume of 175,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,074,973. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $93.97 and a twelve month high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a $1.0522 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

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.