Stephens Inc. AR Lowers Stake in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,189 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $5,586,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DNB Asset Management AS purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth $247,000. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,030,000 after buying an additional 3,454 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 27.4% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 16,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,763,000 after buying an additional 3,636 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,243,000 after buying an additional 3,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plancorp LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 69.8% in the fourth quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,053,000 after buying an additional 5,646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of RGLD opened at $228.32 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $251.28 and its 200 day moving average is $240.86. Royal Gold, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.75 and a fifty-two week high of $306.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.52.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.68 by ($0.76). Royal Gold had a return on equity of 12.63% and a net margin of 48.59%.The business had revenue of $310.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.47 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 85.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is 22.65%.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Gold news, Director Mark Isto sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.83, for a total transaction of $549,660.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,043 shares in the company, valued at $5,508,417.69. The trade was a 9.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.07, for a total transaction of $1,156,213.11. Following the transaction, the director owned 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,698,162.03. This trade represents a 40.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,573 shares of company stock worth $2,370,831. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RGLD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group set a $325.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. National Bank Financial lowered their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.64.

Royal Gold 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.