Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Grows Stake in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• Gamco Investors increased its stake in Royal Gold by 44.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 26,730 shares valued at about $5.94 million.
• Royal Gold’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $1.92 versus $2.68 expected and revenue of $310.83 million versus $425.47 million forecast.
• Despite mixed fundamentals, Wall Street remains fairly positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, though insiders have been selling shares in recent months.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 44.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,730 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,185 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Royal Gold were worth $5,942,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 52.8% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,671 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,928,000 after buying an additional 6,109 shares during the period. Louisbourg Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,938,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,068,000. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,636,000. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 22.9% during the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 135,050 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,056,000 after buying an additional 25,187 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of RGLD opened at $218.93 on Wednesday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12 month low of $150.75 and a 12 month high of $306.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $249.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.48. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Royal Gold's payout ratio is presently 22.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RGLD. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a "neutral" rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. National Bank Financial decreased their price objective 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. Scotiabank cut Royal Gold from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $335.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, UBS Group set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Gold news, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.07, for a total value of $1,156,213.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,698,162.03. This trade represents a 40.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.74, for a total transaction of $243,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,213,646.68. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,573 shares of company stock worth $2,370,831 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

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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