Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday . 4,287,051 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 213% from the previous session’s volume of 1,370,448 shares.The stock last traded at $168.5980 and had previously closed at $168.86.

Royal Bank Of Canada News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Bank Of Canada this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC publicly urged shareholders to reject an unsolicited, below?market “mini?tender” offer from TRC Capital Investment to buy a small block of RY shares at CAD $224, which the bank says is ~4.5% below the recent market price — a move that protects shareholder value and reduces the risk of forced, low?price transactions. RBC press release
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamentals remain supportive: RY’s most recent quarterly report showed an EPS beat and double?digit revenue growth, underpinning return?on?equity and margin metrics that investors use to justify the bank’s valuation (background company filings and earnings). (No external link)
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC’s research arm is highly active — publishing macro/resource calls (e.g., gold outlook), initiating coverage and rating major tech and semiconductor names, and hosting industry events — which highlights the firm’s capital markets and advisory footprint but is only indirectly relevant to RY’s stock moves. Example: RBC commentary on gold and other research pieces. Gold outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: High trading volume is noted today (well above average), which can amplify price moves and reflect position adjustments by institutions reacting to the mini?tender news and recent analyst commentary. (Market volume datapoint from trading session.) (No external link)
• Negative Sentiment: Analytical pieces questioning whether RY has “peaked” after strong multi?year gains can feed profit?taking and downside pressure from momentum traders and some retail investors — contributing to near?term weakness despite solid fundamentals. Has RY peaked?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “moderate buy” rating on the stock. TD Securities upgraded shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank Of Canada has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $163.57 and its 200 day moving average is $148.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $12.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.12 billion. Royal Bank Of Canada had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 16.83%. The company’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 9.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 26th will be given a dividend of $1.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 26th. This is a positive change from Royal Bank Of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. This represents a $6.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Royal Bank Of Canada’s payout ratio is 44.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank Of Canada

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 66,338,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,777,472,000 after buying an additional 1,329,637 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Royal Bank Of Canada by 0.9% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 31,812,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,184,220,000 after acquiring an additional 296,978 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada during the 2nd quarter worth $2,599,262,000. Canerector Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 20,412.0% during the 3rd quarter. Canerector Inc. now owns 13,332,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,964,188,000 after purchasing an additional 13,267,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,374,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,517,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,492 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank Of Canada Company Profile

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is a diversified financial services company and one of Canada’s largest banks. Founded in 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the firm is now headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients through a network of branches, digital platforms and international offices.

RBC operates across several principal business segments including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor and treasury services, capital markets, and global asset management.