Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Strong Earnings

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL's stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $155.49 and last traded at $155.18, with a volume of 259349 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $147.19.

The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a net margin of 42.93% and a return on equity of 10.18%.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 3rd. This is a positive change from Royal Gold's previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Royal Gold's payout ratio is 41.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RGLD shares. TD Securities increased their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $181.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Royal Gold from $184.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $168.86.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 549 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $82,350.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,443,950. The trade was a 3.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning increased its position in Royal Gold by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 8,347 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,171,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the third quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $233,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Gold by 108.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 409 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Royal Gold by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 75,699 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $10,621,000 after buying an additional 5,481 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Trading Down 4.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $139.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.22.

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.