Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as C$176.27 and last traded at C$175.69, with a volume of 129360 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$175.77.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on RY. TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Desjardins upped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$156.00 to C$163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Cormark upped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$171.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$175.92.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.2 %

The stock has a market cap of C$248.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$170.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$157.99.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.95 by C$0.31. The business had revenue of C$14.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.27 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 28.67%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd were issued a $1.42 dividend. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Bank of Canada

In related news, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 7,500 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$166.96, for a total transaction of C$1,252,207.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,174.03. This trade represents a 99.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total transaction of C$12,320,115.24. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 144,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,959,265.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

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.