Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $164.23 and last traded at $163.83, with a volume of 344710 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $162.19.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.86.

Royal Gold Trading Up 0.6 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.79. The company has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.50, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. The trade was a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at about $741,000. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Royal Gold by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Royal Gold by 187.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 127,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $18,049,000 after buying an additional 83,015 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Gold by 213.1% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 5,480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 484,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,843,000 after acquiring an additional 5,067 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.