Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,610,000 shares, a drop of 21.9% from the February 28th total of 3,340,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,010,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.5 days.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Performance

NYSE SAND traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $7.47. 4,580,401 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,234,761. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.49 and a beta of 1.06. Sandstorm Gold has a 12-month low of $4.92 and a 12-month high of $7.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $6.41 and a 200 day moving average of $6.03.

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

Sandstorm Gold Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a $0.014 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in Sandstorm Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sandstorm Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Sandstorm Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,000. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd purchased a new stake in Sandstorm Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. 51.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.