Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Short Interest Down 38.8% in February

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,460,000 shares, a drop of 38.8% from the February 13th total of 10,560,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.8 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. 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. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 2.5 %

RY stock traded up $2.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.52. 1,446,336 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,002,148. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $118.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.48. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $95.84 and a 52 week high of $128.05. The company has a market cap of $157.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $1.0251 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,136,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,975 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at $2,425,519,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $2,229,834,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702,585 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,706,833,000 after purchasing an additional 124,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,338,156,000 after purchasing an additional 921,276 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

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.