Barclays Upgrades Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) to Overweight

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) was upgraded by equities researchers at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on RY. TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $125.02 on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $85.02 and a 52 week high of $126.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $176.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $123.39 and a 200-day moving average of $114.56.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. On average, analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,118,150,000 after acquiring an additional 190,341 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 211,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,369,000 after purchasing an additional 12,693 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,706,833,000 after buying an additional 124,348 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,787,000. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.