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

StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on RY. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a buy rating on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $133.25.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RY opened at $110.51 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $112.67. The stock has a market cap of $156.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.75 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $107.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.93.

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

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 50.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the first quarter worth $49,000. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 293.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth $61,000. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.