Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $155.4545.

Several analysts have commented on WPM shares. TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

NYSE WPM opened at $149.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.67 billion, a PE ratio of 46.00, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.60. Wheaton Precious Metals has a 1 year low of $75.42 and a 1 year high of $165.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $141.88 and its 200 day moving average is $124.87.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.31. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 63.58%.The company had revenue of $864.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $719.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. Wheaton Precious Metals’s quarterly revenue was up 127.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 4.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 524 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,304,000 after buying an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after buying an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 20,240.0% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 10,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after buying an additional 10,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 4,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is a Canada-based precious metals streaming company that acquires and manages long-term purchase agreements for metals produced by mining companies. Rather than operating mines, Wheaton provides upfront and ongoing financing to miners in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the metals produced — typically silver and gold, and occasionally other precious metals — at predetermined prices. This streaming business model offers investors exposure to metal production with reduced operating and capital-cost risk compared with traditional mining companies.

The company’s activities center on structuring and maintaining a diversified portfolio of streaming agreements across multiple jurisdictions.