Short Interest in Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Drops By 25.9%

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,780,000 shares, a decline of 25.9% from the November 30th total of 3,750,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Sandstorm Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAND traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $5.47. The stock had a trading volume of 2,581,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,484,448. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.29. Sandstorm Gold has a 1-year low of $3.96 and a 1-year high of $6.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 45.59 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.71.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $44.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.70 million. Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 20.46% and a return on equity of 2.44%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This is a boost from Sandstorm Gold's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. Sandstorm Gold's payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new position in Sandstorm Gold during the second quarter worth about $606,000. FMR LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $600,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 42.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,149,232 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,162,000 after acquiring an additional 935,005 shares during the last quarter. Sagil Capital LLP purchased a new position in Sandstorm Gold in the second quarter worth approximately $8,041,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Sandstorm Gold by 195.0% in the third quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 130,100 shares of the company's stock worth $781,000 after acquiring an additional 86,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.97% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com lowered Sandstorm Gold from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $8.50.

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.