StockNews.com Upgrades Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on SAND. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. CIBC raised their price objective on Sandstorm Gold from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Sandstorm Gold from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $8.38.

Sandstorm Gold Price Performance

NYSE:SAND opened at $6.21 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.49. Sandstorm Gold has a 52 week low of $3.96 and a 52 week high of $6.32. The stock has a market cap of $1.85 billion, a PE ratio of 77.63 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Sandstorm Gold had a return on equity of 2.06% and a net margin of 17.55%. The company had revenue of $41.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandstorm Gold Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 16th were given a dividend of $0.0146 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 16th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SAND. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 5.9% during the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,542,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,349,000 after buying an additional 1,703,874 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,452,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,696,000 after purchasing an additional 434,460 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. raised its position in Sandstorm Gold by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,048,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,365,000 after purchasing an additional 242,554 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 2.2% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 3,634,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,766,000 after purchasing an additional 78,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 42.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,149,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,162,000 after buying an additional 935,005 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.97% of the company’s stock.

Sandstorm Gold Company Profile

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine.