Desjardins Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Stock

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Desjardins from C$262.00 to C$275.00 in a research note issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Desjardins’ target price indicates a potential upside of 6.01% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on RY. TD Securities reduced their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$260.00 to C$259.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$242.00 to C$258.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$265.50 to C$270.50 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$226.00 to C$232.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$270.00 to C$280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$258.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.4%

TSE:RY traded down C$1.14 on Friday, reaching C$259.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,116,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,728,900. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of C$171.29 and a 12-month high of C$265.10. The firm has a market cap of C$360.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$240.41 and a 200 day moving average price of C$231.76.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.90 EPS for the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 20.88%.The company had revenue of C$17.45 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Graeme Ashley Hepworth sold 1,463 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$261.83, for a total value of C$383,057.29. Also, insider Katherine Gibson sold 462 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$261.83, for a total value of C$120,965.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$75,930.70. The trade was a 61.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,220 shares of company stock valued at $14,690,362.

About Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 101,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada’s biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 19 million clients in Canada, the U.S.