Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on RGLD. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperformer rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Gold to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Royal Gold from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $157.00.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $134.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.54, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $135.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.54. Royal Gold has a 1 year low of $100.55 and a 1 year high of $142.77.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. Royal Gold had a net margin of 39.15% and a return on equity of 8.74%. The company had revenue of $174.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Royal Gold’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Gold will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Paul Libner sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.53, for a total value of $213,795.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,657 shares in the company, valued at $2,659,182.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 4,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.31, for a total transaction of $645,426.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,503.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Paul Libner sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.53, for a total transaction of $213,795.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,659,182.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,515 shares of company stock valued at $1,049,834. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Commerce Bank boosted its position in Royal Gold by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,356 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 23,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,813,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Birch Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Royal Gold by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Keene & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Keene & Associates Inc. now owns 2,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $318,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, acquires and manages precious metal streams, royalties, and related interests. The company engages in acquiring stream and royalty interests or to finance projects that are in production, development, or in the exploration stage in exchange for stream or royalty interests, which primarily consists of gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and other metals.