Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Upgraded by Barclays to "Strong-Buy" Rating

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY was upgraded by Barclays from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$157.00 to C$154.00 in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$168.00 to C$165.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$169.00 to C$181.00 in a report on Wednesday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$172.00 to C$188.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of C$168.00.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY stock traded down C$0.16 during trading on Thursday, hitting C$174.60. 735,356 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,846,116. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is C$169.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$156.49. The company has a market cap of C$246.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of C$115.57 and a 1 year high of C$175.32.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$2.95 by C$0.31. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 28.67%. The company had revenue of C$14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of C$14.27 billion. Research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Bank of Canada

In related news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total value of C$12,320,115.24. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.60, for a total value of C$1,646,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$4,115. The trade was a 99.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold a total of 144,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,959,265 in the last ninety days.

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.