Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Stake Boosted by River Road Asset Management LLC

River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLDFree Report) (TSE:RGL) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,578 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,550 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $6,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Royal Gold by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,793 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,031,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,238,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $350,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $123.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 6.20 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.31 and a quick ratio of 2.18. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.55 and a 52-week high of $147.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.09.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLDGet Free Report) (TSE:RGL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.20. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 39.53%. The firm had revenue of $152.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 4th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on RGLD. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Royal Gold in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “hold” rating and a $117.00 target price on the stock. National Bank Financial raised Royal Gold from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised Royal Gold from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $158.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Royal Gold from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.67.

View Our Latest Stock Report on RGLD

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.00, for a total value of $56,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,351. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD)

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