Brokerages Set Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) PT at $165.43

Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One 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 twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $168.86.

RGLD has been the topic of several research reports. TD Securities upped their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Raymond James increased their price target on Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th.

Royal Gold Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $133.63 on Friday. Royal Gold has a 1-year low of $100.55 and a 1-year high of $155.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.68.

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

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $82,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 16,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,443,950. This trade represents a 3.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 1,984 shares of the 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 directly owns 9,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,362,859.40. This 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the third quarter worth $38,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Royal Gold in the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position 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 worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. 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.