Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Stock Price Up 3.6% – Time to Buy?

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL)’s stock price shot up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.17 and last traded at $170.50. 93,028 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 81% from the average session volume of 495,349 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on RGLD. Raymond James increased their price target on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.75.

Royal Gold Stock Up 4.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.07 and a 200-day moving average of $146.11.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. As a group, research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is presently 35.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $741,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,076 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Royal Gold by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 484,207 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,843,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at about $455,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, acquires and manages precious metal streams, royalties, and related interests. The company engages in acquiring stream and royalty interests or to finance projects that are in production, development, or in the exploration stage in exchange for stream or royalty interests, which primarily consists of gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and other metals.