Trexquant Investment LP Buys New Shares in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,130 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,918,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Royal Gold by 61.1% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 290 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 390.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 368 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 66.7% in the 4th 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 during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of RGLD traded up $8.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $179.58. The stock had a trading volume of 1,077,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,634. The firm has a market cap of $11.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.51. Royal Gold, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.00 and a twelve month high of $181.51.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. Analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James raised their price objective on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.75.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In other news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the firm's 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 owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.