Investors Purchase High Volume of Wheaton Precious Metals Put Options (NYSE:WPM)

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 26,101 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 514% compared to the average daily volume of 4,250 put options.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

WPM stock traded down $7.57 during trading on Monday, hitting $135.35. The company had a trading volume of 3,052,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,248,328. The business has a 50 day moving average of $138.19 and a 200 day moving average of $131.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. Wheaton Precious Metals has a fifty-two week low of $92.57 and a fifty-two week high of $165.76.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $878.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $879.29 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 64.66% and a return on equity of 21.97%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s quarterly revenue was up 84.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were issued a $0.1950 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 245.5% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 236 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 446.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 328 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors own 70.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $163.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Berenberg Bank set a $157.00 target price on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.00.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) is a precious metals streaming company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Rather than operating mines directly, the company provides upfront financing to mining companies in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the future production from specific mining projects at predetermined prices.

Wheaton’s streaming portfolio is primarily focused on gold and silver, with additional exposure to palladium and cobalt through certain agreements.