First Eagle Investment Management LLC Sells 1,321,752 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management cut its Royal Gold position by 58.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,321,752 shares and leaving it with 926,123 shares valued at about $205.9 million.
• Royal Gold reported quarterly earnings of $1.92 per share, missing analyst expectations of $2.68, and revenue of $310.83 million versus forecasts of $425.47 million, even though revenue rose 85.2% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share and maintains a low payout ratio of 22.65%; meanwhile, analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $273.64.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 58.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 926,123 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 1,321,752 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 1.10% of Royal Gold worth $205,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Royal Gold by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 4,103 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $6,452,000. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Gold by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,947 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,017 shares in the last quarter. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Royal Gold by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Aubrey Capital Management Ltd now owns 7,313 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pure Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $245,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Price Performance

RGLD stock opened at $245.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a current ratio of 3.52. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.75 and a 52-week high of $306.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.23.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by ($0.76). The company had revenue of $310.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.47 million. Royal Gold had a net margin of 48.59% and a return on equity of 12.63%. Royal Gold's revenue for the quarter was up 85.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 11.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a $0.475 dividend. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Gold's payout ratio is presently 22.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.87, for a total value of $421,218.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,059,521.80. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.07, for a total value of $1,156,213.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,698,162.03. This represents a 40.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,573 shares of company stock worth $2,370,831 over the last 90 days. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on RGLD. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Scotiabank downgraded Royal Gold from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $335.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group set a $325.00 target price on Royal Gold and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.64.

Royal Gold 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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