Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 4,122,401 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 84% from the previous session’s volume of 2,239,810 shares.The stock last traded at $145.47 and had previously closed at $132.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $182.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.55.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Up 1.8%

The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $68.16 billion, a PE ratio of 33.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.29.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $878.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $879.29 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 64.66% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be issued a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $864,977,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the second quarter worth about $581,250,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the second quarter valued at approximately $351,708,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the second quarter valued at approximately $328,309,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the second quarter valued at approximately $320,838,000. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.