Brokerages Set Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Target Price at $8.25

Shares of Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $8.25.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SAND. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. CIBC upped their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. StockNews.com raised Sandstorm Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Sandstorm Gold by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,542,674 shares of the company's stock worth $160,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703,874 shares during the period. Sagil Capital LLP purchased a new position in Sandstorm Gold in the second quarter worth $8,041,000. Helikon Investments Ltd acquired a new stake in Sandstorm Gold in the first quarter valued at $6,771,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sandstorm Gold during the 1st quarter worth $6,537,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,149,232 shares of the company's stock worth $17,162,000 after purchasing an additional 935,005 shares during the period. 51.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SAND traded down $0.06 on Friday, hitting $5.89. 2,723,401 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,648,182. Sandstorm Gold has a 1-year low of $3.96 and a 1-year high of $6.38. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a PE ratio of 73.63 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm's 50-day moving average is $5.71 and its 200 day moving average is $5.59.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $41.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.50 million. Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 2.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.015 per share. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. This is a boost from Sandstorm Gold's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Sandstorm Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.01%.

About Sandstorm Gold

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine.