Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $125.62 and last traded at $124.1280, with a volume of 433657 shares. The stock had previously closed at $117.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WPM shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.78.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $108.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.95. The firm has a market cap of $55.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.16, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.52.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $476.26 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $495.53 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 54.72%.Wheaton Precious Metals’s quarterly revenue was up 54.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the second quarter worth about $656,463,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 36.2% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,955,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,847,977 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 53.0% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,197,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,572 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,455,675 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 139.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,085,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215,660 shares during 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. 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.