Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Short Interest Update

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY – Get Rating) (TSE:RY) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 30th, there was short interest totalling 16,700,000 shares, a decline of 16.8% from the December 15th total of 20,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 876,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 19.1 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$131.00 to C$136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. National Bank Financial lowered their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$148.00 to C$147.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Finally, Desjardins boosted their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$140.00 to C$145.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.09.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

NYSE:RY opened at $100.68 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.48. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $83.63 and a 52-week high of $116.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.52 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY – Get Rating) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.02 by $0.07. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 16.33% and a net margin of 23.66%. The business had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter. Analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.63 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.9832 per share. This represents a $3.93 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.02%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RY. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 185.6% in the second quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 64.9% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Win Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 70.3% in the second quarter. Win Advisors Inc. now owns 356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 41.19% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

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Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company. The company operates through five segments: Personal & Commercial Banking, Wealth Management, Insurance, Investor & Treasury, and Capital Markets. The Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions, as well as indirect lending, including auto financing; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses.