Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,910,000 shares, a decrease of 25.6% from the November 15th total of 10,630,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.5 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on RY. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

NYSE:RY traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $124.46. 175,975 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,973. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.59. The company has a market capitalization of $175.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $93.97 and a 12 month high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $1.0522 per share. This represents a $4.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is presently 50.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702,585 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,141,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,033 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 165.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,896,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,532,000 after buying an additional 1,804,022 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at approximately $153,217,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,616,000 after purchasing an additional 541,760 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.