Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

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

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on RGLD. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Gold to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Royal Gold from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Royal Gold from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an outperformer rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $157.00.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $143.61 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $137.08 and its 200-day moving average is $128.17. The company has a market cap of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.90. Royal Gold has a 52-week low of $100.55 and a 52-week high of $145.59.

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

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is presently 47.20%.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Gold news, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.16, for a total transaction of $132,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,203,845.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total value of $58,452.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,194 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,124.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.16, for a total transaction of $132,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,203,845.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,355 shares of company stock worth $1,170,315. Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Royal Gold by 224.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 609,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $74,276,000 after acquiring an additional 422,026 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Royal Gold by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,595,734 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $559,807,000 after purchasing an additional 292,357 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,696,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 834,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,507,000 after purchasing an additional 212,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 1st quarter worth approximately $20,675,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

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.