Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday.

RGLD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Raymond James boosted their target price on Royal Gold from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperformer rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Royal Gold from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. CIBC boosted their target price on Royal Gold from $166.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Royal Gold from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on Royal Gold from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $155.71.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $133.47 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.37, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $130.10 and its 200 day moving average is $122.27. Royal Gold has a 1 year low of $100.55 and a 1 year high of $141.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $174.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.12 million. Royal Gold had a net margin of 38.12% and a return on equity of 7.96%. Royal Gold’s revenue was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Gold will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 5th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 5th. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is currently 47.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.73, for a total value of $196,095.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,840 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,940,033.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 526.3% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 414.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.