Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Hits New 52-Week High at $145.59

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $145.59 and last traded at $143.60, with a volume of 68287 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $140.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on RGLD shares. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Royal Gold to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $166.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.00.

Royal Gold Trading Up 1.3 %

The stock has a market cap of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.30.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.07. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 8.74% and a net margin of 39.15%. The business had revenue of $174.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Royal Gold’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 4.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.16, for a total value of $132,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,203,845.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.16, for a total value of $132,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 9,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,203,845.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Randy Shefman sold 4,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.31, for a total value of $645,426.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,042,503.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,515 shares of company stock worth $1,049,834. 0.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Royal Gold by 224.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 609,760 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $74,276,000 after buying an additional 422,026 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,595,734 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $559,807,000 after acquiring an additional 292,357 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at $33,696,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 834,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $104,507,000 after purchasing an additional 212,316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold during the first quarter worth $20,675,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Company Profile

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.