Zacks Research Upgrades Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Royal Gold from “strong sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $285.10.
• Royal Gold reported quarterly EPS of $2.56, slightly above estimates, and revenue of $468.98 million, up 114.9% year over year.
• Shares opened at $261.37, near the recent insider-sale price of $262.80; institutional investors own 83.65% of the company.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL was upgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

RGLD has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royal Gold from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Royal Gold from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Royal Gold from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.10.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $261.37 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $222.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $235.41. Royal Gold has a twelve month low of $168.88 and a twelve month high of $306.25. The company has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.55 by $0.01. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 47.74%.The company had revenue of $468.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.81 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 114.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Royal Gold will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.80, for a total value of $131,400.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,082 shares in the company, valued at $2,123,949.60. The trade was a 5.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Plancorp LLC raised its holdings in Royal Gold by 69.8% in the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 13,732 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,053,000 after acquiring an additional 5,646 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,024,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 161.2% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 43,836 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $9,744,000 after acquiring an additional 27,051 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of Royal Gold by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 32,177 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,153,000 after purchasing an additional 12,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,083,000. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Company Profile

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company's portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.

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