Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 3,330,852 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 213% from the previous session’s volume of 1,063,929 shares.The stock last traded at $124.39 and had previously closed at $124.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $120.67 and a 200 day moving average of $110.69. The firm has a market cap of $176.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a dividend of $1.028 per share. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 50.18%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RY. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 10.3% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the first quarter worth $647,000. Cardinal Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 8.7% during the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 39,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.6% during the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 52,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,286,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.