Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Upgraded at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) from a sector perform rating to a sector outperform rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $189.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $166.00.

RGLD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.00.

Royal Gold Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $186.45 on Monday. Royal Gold has a 12 month low of $118.00 and a 12 month high of $191.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of 36.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.34.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a net margin of 46.15% and a return on equity of 11.46%. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Gold will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Royal Gold by 61.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 29,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,899,000 after buying an additional 11,435 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 29.3% during the 1st quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,588 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the 1st quarter worth about $503,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 50.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the first quarter worth about $309,000. 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.