Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Short Interest Update

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 October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 16,690,000 shares, a growth of 55.0% from the September 30th total of 10,770,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 994,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 16.8 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 293.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on RY. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE RY traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $122.46. 3,608,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,674. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $77.90 and a 1 year high of $126.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $121.75 and a 200 day moving average of $111.30. The stock has a market cap of $173.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a $1.028 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.99%.

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.