Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday,Zacks reports.

RGLD has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Royal Gold from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.10.

Royal Gold Trading Down 0.3%

RGLD stock opened at $261.37 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $222.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.41. Royal Gold has a fifty-two week low of $168.88 and a fifty-two week high of $306.25. The firm has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.92.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 47.74%.The business had revenue of $468.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 114.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Gold will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 2nd. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.80, for a total value of $131,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,123,949.60. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plancorp LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,053,000 after acquiring an additional 5,646 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at $1,024,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 161.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 43,836 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,744,000 after purchasing an additional 27,051 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its position in Royal Gold by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 32,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,153,000 after purchasing an additional 12,381 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,083,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Company Profile

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company’s portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.