Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

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

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Desjardins upped their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$156.00 to C$163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$157.00 to C$154.00 in a report on Monday, August 19th. CIBC upped their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$167.00 in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Cormark upped their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$171.00 in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$171.58.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

RY opened at C$174.71 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of C$246.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$170.00 and its 200-day moving average price is C$156.75. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of C$115.57 and a one year high of C$175.32.

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

Royal Bank of Canada Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Royal Bank of Canada

In other Royal Bank of Canada news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total transaction of C$12,320,115.24. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$167.95, for a total value of C$2,855,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25 shares in the company, valued at C$4,198.75. This trade represents a 99.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 144,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,959,265 in the last ninety days.

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.