Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $6.71 and last traded at $6.66, with a volume of 415114 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on SAND. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on Sandstorm Gold from $12.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sandstorm Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.56.

Sandstorm Gold Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 135.13 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $47.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.49 million. Sandstorm Gold had a return on equity of 0.98% and a net margin of 8.11%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Sandstorm Gold Ltd. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. This is an increase from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Sandstorm Gold’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Sandstorm Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 39,289.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,812,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,751,000 after buying an additional 9,787,105 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 580.6% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,314,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,600 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 77.9% in the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,465,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,955,916 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in Sandstorm Gold by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,890,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,050 shares in the last quarter. 51.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandstorm Gold Company Profile

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine.