Two Sigma Advisers LP Raises Stock Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 58.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,200 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $9,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RGLD. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth $55,825,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter worth $44,009,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments bought a new stake in Royal Gold in the fourth quarter valued at $27,536,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 181.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 302,206 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,846,000 after acquiring an additional 194,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,029,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $135,730,000 after acquiring an additional 168,569 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $176.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $171.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $153.23. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $119.72 and a 12 month high of $191.78.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $193.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.17 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on RGLD shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $196.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $202.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.49% 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.