Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC Boosts Stake in Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND)

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) by 266.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 88,124 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 64,063 shares during the quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC’s holdings in Sandstorm Gold were worth $479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SAND. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Sandstorm Gold in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,902,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Sandstorm Gold during the second quarter worth $606,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Sandstorm Gold by 48.1% during the first quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 384,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after buying an additional 125,096 shares during the period. Helikon Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Sandstorm Gold in the first quarter valued at $6,771,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 42.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,149,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,162,000 after acquiring an additional 935,005 shares during the period. 51.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. CIBC increased their price target on Sandstorm Gold from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Sandstorm Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright increased their price target on Sandstorm Gold from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.25.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Performance

NYSE:SAND opened at $5.89 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.63 and a beta of 1.14. Sandstorm Gold Ltd. has a twelve month low of $3.96 and a twelve month high of $6.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Sandstorm Gold had a return on equity of 2.06% and a net margin of 17.55%. The business had revenue of $41.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.50 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sandstorm Gold Ltd. will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.015 per share. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This is a positive change from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Sandstorm Gold’s payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Sandstorm Gold Profile

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine.