Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $235.80 and last traded at $233.50, with a volume of 2692 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $233.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RGLD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial set a $264.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. CIBC raised their target price on Royal Gold from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Royal Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Royal Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $193.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.60.

Royal Gold Stock Up 0.2%

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $196.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $184.07. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.48.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.24). Royal Gold had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 55.99%.The business had revenue of $250.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 24.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Royal Gold in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Royal Gold by 548.1% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 8,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 56.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company’s portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.