Desjardins Keeps Buy Rating on Royal Bank of Canada with $214 Price Target

Desjardins analyst Douglas Young maintained a Buy rating for Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) with a C$214.00 price target. The analyst has a 71.12% success rate and a 13.7% average return on recommended stocks. The Street consensus rating for RY is Strong Buy with a $157.84 average price target, an 8.22% upside from current levels. The company reported Q1 revenue of $32.57 billion and net profit of $4.39 billion, compared to $13.98 billion and $3.95 billion last year. Corporate insider sentiment is negative, with 78 insiders selling shares in the past quarter.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY) logged a robust performance in the third quarter of 2025, with earnings and revenue growth driven by a significant reduction in credit-loss provisions. The bank's net income for the period was C$5.41 billion, up from C$4.49 billion in the same quarter last year. This represents a notable improvement, with adjusted per-share earnings of C$3.84, surpassing the C$3.31 mean forecast of analysts polled by FactSet [1].

The key driver behind this strong performance was a substantial decrease in the provision for credit losses, which fell to C$881 million from C$1.42 billion in the prior quarter. This reduction was largely due to a more optimistic macroeconomic outlook and expectations of fiscal support for Canada's economy, reflecting a shift in provisions by other major banks in the country [1].

The bank's capital markets revenue also reached a record high, contributing significantly to the overall earnings growth. President and Chief Executive Dave Mackay noted that the bank's results were achieved in an environment of record equity markets and cyclically low investment-grade credit spreads [1].

Despite the positive earnings report, Royal Bank of Canada remains cautious about geopolitical risks and the uncertainty surrounding trade policies, which continue to dampen activity by investors and commercial clients. The bank continues to target 7% earnings per share growth, a strong capital ratio, and a 16%-plus return on equity during the next couple of years [1].

The stock price of Royal Bank of Canada reacted positively to the earnings announcement, with shares rising 5.8% in early trading on Wednesday and up 16% in the last year. Analysts have maintained a positive outlook on the stock, with Desjardins analyst Douglas Young maintaining a Buy rating with a C$214.00 price target. The Street consensus rating for RY is Strong Buy with an average price target of C$157.84, an 8.22% upside from current levels [3].

The company's Q1 revenue of C$32.57 billion and net profit of C$4.39 billion further underscore its financial health, compared to C$13.98 billion and C$3.95 billion last year. However, corporate insider sentiment is negative, with 78 insiders selling shares in the past quarter [3].

References:
[1] https://www.wsj.com/business/earnings/royal-bank-of-canada-third-quarter-results-buoyed-by-lower-loan-loss-provision-057983e1
[2] https://www.morningstar.com/company-reports/1326040-royal-bank-of-canadas-net-interest-income-is-a-tailwind-to-2025-profitability
[3] https://www.marketbeat.com/instant-alerts/royal-bank-of-canada-nysery-reaches-new-12-month-high-after-dividend-announcement-2025-08-27/