Every day, the sun rises on Wall Street, and a plethora of professional analysts wake to issue new opinions on stocks. Here at the Fool, we use our "This Just In" column to examine some of these picks -- and the track records of the firm behind them -- so individuals can make better investing decisions.

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Enough top-performing CAPS members have turned bullish on Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) recently to upgrade it from its long-held four-star rank to a more formidable five stars. A total of 540 members have weighed in on Royal Bank of Canada, with many of them offering analysis and commentary explaining the recent optimism.

Canada's conservative banking system has held up better than most others during the collapse of world financial markets. Banks like Royal Bank and Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE:BNS) posted profits in their recent quarter and continued to distribute healthy dividend payments while U.S. banks like Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) have slashed theirs. Royal Bank and Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) have paid annual dividends for more than a century.

While Royal Bank plans to take an impairment charge this quarter due in part to its exposure to declining U.S. markets, the noncash charge doesn't affect operations or its Tier 1 capital ratio, which stood at 10.6% at the end of its most recent quarter. And as banks to the south, including Citigroup (NYSE:C), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), and Capital One Financial, quibble with the U.S. government over multibillion dollar aid packages, Canada's prime minister is encouraging its banks to use their strengths to expand globally. Royal Bank's CEO recently said he plans to continue with the bank's diversified strategy that -- while imperfect -- has already served it well, and may pursue some acquisitions over the next several years.

To see what the very best CAPS analysts are saying now about Royal Bank of Canada -- as well as other winning stocks they are picking -- head on over to CAPS and have a look. The community research and resources in CAPS are totally free, unlike analyst opinions reserved for paying clients.

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