Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Reaches New 52-Week High at $146.34

Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $146.34 and last traded at $145.53, with a volume of 29099 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $143.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $129.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $168.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $148.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $166.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $157.00.

Royal Gold Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50 day moving average is $137.34 and its 200-day moving average is $128.64.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $174.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.12 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 4th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Royal Gold's payout ratio is 47.20%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 840 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.43, for a total value of $120,481.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,842 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,415,648.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 840 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.43, for a total value of $120,481.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,842 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,648.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ronald J. Vance sold 415 shares of Royal Gold stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.85, for a total transaction of $58,452.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,154,124.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,355 shares of company stock valued at $1,170,315 in the last ninety days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Gold

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in RGLD. Commerce Bank grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,356 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Birch Capital Management LLC now owns 799 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $97,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in Royal Gold by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 487 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,690 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,591 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Royal Gold

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.