Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Announces Dividend Increase – $1.05 Per Share

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, December 5th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a dividend of 1.0522 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, February 24th. This represents a $4.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03.

Royal Bank of Canada has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.6% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Royal Bank of Canada has a payout ratio of 44.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Royal Bank of Canada to earn $9.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.06 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 43.8%.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock traded up $2.66 on Thursday, hitting $128.02. 716,455 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,089,141. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.80. 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 has a 12-month low of $90.71 and a 12-month high of $128.05. The company has a market cap of $180.98 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on RY. TD Securities lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

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.