Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $77.44 and last traded at $75.53, with a volume of 2006908 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WPM shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Stifel Canada upgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $72.44.

Wheaton Precious Metals Trading Down 0.8 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.07. The company has a market cap of $34.29 billion, a PE ratio of 56.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.76.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is 49.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WPM. Fielder Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 24,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.