Analysts Set Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Target Price at $165.43

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $168.86.

Several research firms have issued reports on RGLD. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th.

Royal Gold Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $134.68 on Friday. Royal Gold has a fifty-two week low of $100.55 and a fifty-two week high of $155.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $139.81. The company has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.90.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $193.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.12 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 42.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 39.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Royal Gold will post 5.14 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.05, for a total transaction of $291,747.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,859.40. This trade represents a 17.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $82,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,443,950. This trade represents a 3.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Royal Gold by 357.7% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 51,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,473,000 after buying an additional 40,419 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 187.5% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 127,285 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,049,000 after acquiring an additional 83,015 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 75.8% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,174,000 after purchasing an additional 28,163 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Royal Gold during the third quarter worth approximately $1,201,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Royal Gold by 213.1% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,051 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 5,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.