Desjardins Predicts Lower Earnings for Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) – Investment analysts at Desjardins dropped their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for Royal Bank of Canada in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, February 4th. Desjardins analyst D. Young now expects that the financial services provider will post earnings of $2.21 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.29. The consensus estimate for Royal Bank of Canada’s current full-year earnings is $9.20 per share.

RY has been the topic of several other reports. TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target 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. Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

NYSE RY opened at $119.07 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $122.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.87. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $93.97 and a 1 year high of $128.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.0522 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 84,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,483,000 after acquiring an additional 4,980 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 211,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,369,000 after purchasing an additional 12,693 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,706,833,000 after buying an additional 124,348 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter valued at about $706,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 150.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 74,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,249,000 after buying an additional 44,494 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.