Alps Advisors Inc. Takes $624,000 Position in Sandstorm Gold Ltd (NYSE:SAND)

Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Sandstorm Gold Ltd (NYSE:SAND - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 82,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 39,289.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,812,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,751,000 after acquiring an additional 9,787,105 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,394,000 after buying an additional 1,691,296 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,974,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,781,000 after buying an additional 913,527 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 68.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,359,258 shares of the company's stock worth $13,179,000 after purchasing an additional 954,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 580.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,314,684 shares of the company's stock worth $12,916,000 after buying an additional 1,974,600 shares during the last quarter. 51.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SAND traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $9.58. 3,594,371 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,464,332. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $9.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $7.60. Sandstorm Gold Ltd has a 52 week low of $4.92 and a 52 week high of $10.44. The company has a market cap of $2.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.76 and a beta of 0.46.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $50.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $71.61 million. Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 15.80% and a return on equity of 2.00%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sandstorm Gold Ltd will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. This is a boost from Sandstorm Gold's previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Sandstorm Gold's payout ratio is currently 60.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SAND. Raymond James Financial set a $9.75 price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. National Bankshares reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Sandstorm Gold in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $11.50 to $11.75 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sandstorm Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $7.25 to $8.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sandstorm Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $10.15.

Sandstorm Gold Profile

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.