Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Stock

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) had its price objective raised by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $305.00 to $325.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 32.00% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on RGLD. Zacks Research upgraded Royal Gold from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. TD boosted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $289.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Royal Gold from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $289.64.

Royal Gold Trading Down 2.0%

RGLD traded down $4.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $246.21. 197,313 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 863,175. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $228.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.35. Royal Gold has a 1-year low of $168.88 and a 1-year high of $306.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Royal Gold had a net margin of 47.74% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $468.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 114.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold will post 10.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.80, for a total transaction of $131,400.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 8,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,123,949.60. This trade represents a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.35% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Gold

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,177,865,000. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $332,026,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,900,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,311,607,000 after buying an additional 905,488 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in Royal Gold by 89.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,855,877 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $412,543,000 after acquiring an additional 874,329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the second quarter worth about $150,762,000. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Gold Company Profile

Royal Gold, Inc is a precious metals streaming and royalty company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Rather than operating mines directly, the company provides financing to mining companies in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the metals produced from certain projects at predetermined prices, or to receive revenue-based payments tied to mineral production.

Royal Gold’s portfolio is organized into two primary businesses: streams and royalties. Its streaming agreements generally provide rights to purchase gold, silver, copper or other metals from mining operations, while its royalty interests entitle the company to a percentage of revenue or production from a mine without bearing the operator’s ongoing costs.