Alps Advisors Inc. Purchases Shares of 82,604 Sandstorm Gold Ltd (NYSE:SAND)

Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Sandstorm Gold Ltd (NYSE:SAND - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 82,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $624,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new position in shares of Sandstorm Gold in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,897 shares of the company's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co purchased a new position in Sandstorm Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. United Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold during the first quarter valued at about $118,000. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold in the fourth quarter worth about $112,000. 51.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Sandstorm Gold Price Performance

Sandstorm Gold stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $9.56. 6,051,393 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,458,671. Sandstorm Gold Ltd has a one year low of $4.92 and a one year high of $10.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $2.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 95.58 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $7.57.

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

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

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

About Sandstorm Gold

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.