Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Sets New 12-Month High After Earnings Beat

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $155.49 and last traded at $155.18, with a volume of 259349 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $147.19.

The basic materials company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 42.93%.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. This is an increase from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 41.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RGLD shares. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $168.86.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $82,350.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,950. The trade was a 3.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.59, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $139.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.00.

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.