Short Interest in Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Declines By 21.9%

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,610,000 shares, a decline of 21.9% from the February 28th total of 3,340,000 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Sandstorm Gold Price Performance

NYSE:SAND traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $7.55. 4,689,163 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,231,523. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $6.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $6.01. Sandstorm Gold has a one year low of $4.92 and a one year high of $7.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 150.93 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.03). Sandstorm Gold had a return on equity of 0.98% and a net margin of 8.11%. The company had revenue of $47.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.49 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Sandstorm Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.014 per share. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Sandstorm Gold’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after buying an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Sandstorm Gold by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 501,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,805,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sandstorm Gold by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 399,540 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,000 after acquiring an additional 3,640 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 24,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 129,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.97% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on SAND shares. StockNews.com raised Sandstorm Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. HC Wainwright cut their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $12.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.56.

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.