Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $86.62, but opened at $84.88. Wheaton Precious Metals shares last traded at $86.06, with a volume of 277,019 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WPM. CIBC increased their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stifel Canada upgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Wheaton Precious Metals has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $85.90.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Up 0.7%

The stock has a market cap of $39.10 billion, a PE ratio of 64.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.32 and a 200 day moving average of $69.20.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $470.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $446.33 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 58.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 28th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.8% in the first quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 5,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.1% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $523,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 9.0% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.9% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.34% of the company’s stock.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.