Everence Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Royal Gold by 61.1% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Royal Gold in the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Royal Gold by 51.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 361 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $133.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.68. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $100.55 and a 12-month high of $155.10. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.90.

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

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 3rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a boost from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.28%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RGLD shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. TD Securities increased their target price on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $168.86.

Royal Gold Company Profile

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.