Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, September 1, 2023

Article Excerpt

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, $122.85, Toronto symbol RY, is a buy. Canada’s largest bank by market capitalization raised your quarterly dividend by 2.3% with the August 2023 payment. Investors now receive $1.35 a share instead of $1.32. The new annual rate of $5.40 yields a solid 4.4%. The bank continues to benefit from higher interest income on its loans due to higher interest rates. As well, it cut the number of full-time employees by 1% in the latest quarter, and it plans to further reduce headcount by 1% to 2% in the current quarter. In its 2023 third quarter, ended July 31, 2023, Royal’s earnings before unusual items rose 11.4%, to $2.84 a share (or a total of $3.96 billion) from $2.55 a share (or $3.56 billion) a year earlier. That topped the consensus estimate of $2.71 a share. Due to rising interest rates and the possibility of higher loan defaults, Royal set aside $616 million to cover future loan losses, up 81.2% from $340…