Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $226.25 and last traded at $224.5850, with a volume of 121532 shares. The stock had previously closed at $222.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on RGLD shares. Zacks Research upgraded Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royal Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.60.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $192.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.10. The company has a market capitalization of $18.90 billion, a PE ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.68.

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

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Royal Gold by 4.0% during the third quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Encompass More Asset Management boosted its position in Royal Gold by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 1,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 33.9% during the 3rd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Gold by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 2.3% during the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $529,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Company Profile

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.