Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. CIBC increased their target price on Royal Gold from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royal Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $261.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.60.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $193.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 55.99%.The business had revenue of $250.23 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.11 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.47 EPS. Royal Gold’s quarterly revenue was up 30.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.475 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 56.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.