Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

RY has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Scotiabank raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Argus boosted their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.25.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RY traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $109.02. 472,100 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,080,839. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $109.60. 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 $154.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $104.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.89.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $10.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.95 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the first quarter worth $49,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 192.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

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.