Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment 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. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $165.43.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lifted 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 lifted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

RGLD opened at $148.22 on Wednesday. Royal Gold has a fifty-two week low of $100.55 and a fifty-two week high of $155.10. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.89.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.13. Royal Gold had a net margin of 42.93% and a return on equity of 10.18%. The business had revenue of $193.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Gold will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 41.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total value of $291,747.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,362,859.40. This represents a 17.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $82,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,443,950. This trade represents a 3.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,373 shares of company stock valued at $494,578 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Gold

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 61.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Gold Company Profile

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.