Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $165.43.

RGLD has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Royal Gold from $141.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th.

Royal Gold Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $134.44 on Friday. Royal Gold has a 12-month low of $100.55 and a 12-month high of $155.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $143.27 and a 200-day moving average of $139.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This is an increase from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.28%.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $82,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,950. This trade represents a 3.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total value of $291,747.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,859.40. This trade represents a 17.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Gold

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $253,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Royal Gold by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,567 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $338,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 4,909 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 303.3% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 28,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,063,000 after purchasing an additional 21,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the third quarter worth approximately $591,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by 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.