Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $276.58 and last traded at $271.8080, with a volume of 156641 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $265.12.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $261.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $240.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $264.00 price target on Royal Gold in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.60.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RGLD. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 25,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,586,000 after buying an additional 4,344 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,538 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,000. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,602,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market cap of $23.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.24). Royal Gold had a net margin of 55.99% and a return on equity of 14.14%. The firm had revenue of $250.23 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This is an increase from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 26.10%.

About Royal Gold

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.