Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Receives $71.67 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.44.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Canada upgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 0.6 %

WPM opened at $75.53 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.89. Wheaton Precious Metals has a 12-month low of $43.18 and a 12-month high of $77.44.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $380.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.74 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WPM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 955,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,422,000 after acquiring an additional 36,970 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at $20,790,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.8% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,370,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,854,000 after acquiring an additional 10,600 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,287,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 163,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,196,000 after purchasing an additional 26,924 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.34% of the company’s stock.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

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.