Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $142.50.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RY shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE RY opened at $125.67 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $88.49 and a 1 year high of $126.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.33. The firm has a market cap of $177.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 84,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,483,000 after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,118,150,000 after buying an additional 190,341 shares during the period. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 211,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,369,000 after purchasing an additional 12,693 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% during the third 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 period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 150.7% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 74,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,249,000 after purchasing an additional 44,494 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.