Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $155.6364.

WPM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 2.1%

WPM stock opened at $112.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.70. Wheaton Precious Metals has a 52 week low of $85.59 and a 52 week high of $165.76.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.04. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 65.55% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The firm had revenue of $901.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 91.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Wheaton Precious Metals’s payout ratio is presently 19.70%.

Institutional Trading of Wheaton Precious Metals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 245.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 73.5% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 236 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. 70.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is a Canada-based precious metals streaming company that acquires and manages long-term purchase agreements for metals produced by mining companies. Rather than operating mines, Wheaton provides upfront and ongoing financing to miners in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the metals produced — typically silver and gold, and occasionally other precious metals — at predetermined prices. This streaming business model offers investors exposure to metal production with reduced operating and capital-cost risk compared with traditional mining companies.

The company’s activities center on structuring and maintaining a diversified portfolio of streaming agreements across multiple jurisdictions.