Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $173.00 and last traded at $170.97, with a volume of 921905 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $164.54.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Scotiabank raised Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.00.

Royal Gold Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.40, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $155.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.06.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a net margin of 46.15% and a return on equity of 11.46%. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.71%.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total value of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % 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 link. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 390.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 368 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 66.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 395 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold in the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. 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.