Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) Reaches New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Shares of Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $6.40 and last traded at $6.40, with a volume of 19255 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.31.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.015 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. This is a positive change from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Sandstorm Gold’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Sandstorm Gold Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.55. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 76.13 and a beta of 1.14.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 2.06%. The firm had revenue of $41.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.01 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Sandstorm Gold Ltd. will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAND. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 5.9% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,542,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703,874 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Sandstorm Gold by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,452,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,696,000 after purchasing an additional 434,460 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. lifted its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,048,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,365,000 after buying an additional 242,554 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 3,634,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,766,000 after buying an additional 78,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Sandstorm Gold by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,149,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,162,000 after buying an additional 935,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.97% of the company’s stock.

About Sandstorm Gold

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.