Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Stock

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) had its target price hoisted by Scotiabank from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a research note published on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on RY. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$168.00 to C$165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Desjardins upped their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$156.00 to C$163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$165.00 to C$195.00 in a research report on Monday, November 18th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Securities cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$175.17.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.5 %

RY stock opened at C$173.77 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$170.11 and a 200-day moving average of C$156.99. The company has a market cap of C$245.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of C$115.57 and a 12-month high of C$175.59.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$2.95 by C$0.31. The firm had revenue of C$14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.27 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 28.67%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.31%.

Insider Activity at Royal Bank of Canada

In related news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total value of C$12,320,115.24. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$167.95, for a total value of C$2,855,150.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,198.75. This represents a 99.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,770 shares of company stock worth $23,959,265.

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.