Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an equal weight rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

NYSE RY traded up $1.39 on Monday, hitting $104.60. The stock had a trading volume of 561,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,201,669. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $104.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $147.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $99.67 and a 200-day moving average of $96.12.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. Equities analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $1.0207 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. Royal Bank of Canada's payout ratio is presently 51.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth $34,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth $44,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the first quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company's stock.

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.