Short Interest in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Grows By 38.3%

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,270,000 shares, a growth of 38.3% from the March 15th total of 5,980,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company's stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RY traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $117.08. 306,128 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,349,050. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.75. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $95.84 and a 1-year high of $128.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $165.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $1.0251 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on RY shares. CIBC raised Royal Bank of Canada from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.50.

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.