Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Director Mark Isto Sells 2,000 Shares

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) Director Mark Isto sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.83, for a total transaction of $549,660.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,508,417.69. This represents a 9.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

RGLD traded down $6.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $269.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 744,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,219. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.75 and a 52-week high of $306.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $273.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.57. The company has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a current ratio of 3.12.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by ($0.76). The business had revenue of $360.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.47 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 45.26%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 85.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a $0.475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on RGLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank cut shares of Royal Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Royal Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $251.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RGLD. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,068,000. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 275.8% during the third quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 6,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after acquiring an additional 4,885 shares in the last quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the second quarter worth about $1,397,000. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the third quarter worth about $16,636,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 576.4% in the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 35,119 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,044,000 after acquiring an additional 29,927 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.