Oxbow Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• Oxbow Advisors LLC cut its Royal Gold position by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 26,919 shares and leaving it with 58,154 shares worth about $12.9 million.
• Institutional ownership in Royal Gold remains very high at 83.65%, with large holders like Vanguard and Van ECK increasing their stakes during recent quarters.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still leans positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus, though some firms have recently lowered ratings or price targets, and the average price target is $273.64.

Oxbow Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 31.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 26,919 shares during the period. Royal Gold comprises 1.1% of Oxbow Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Oxbow Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Royal Gold worth $12,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Royal Gold by 1.0% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,055,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,816,267,000 after acquiring an additional 93,282 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Royal Gold by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,398,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,867,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,577 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Royal Gold by 104.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,994,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,001,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547,076 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Royal Gold by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,321,868 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $666,300,000 after purchasing an additional 170,430 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Royal Gold by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,030,501 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $206,698,000 after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.07, for a total transaction of $1,156,213.11. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,698,162.03. This represents a 40.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark Isto sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.83, for a total transaction of $549,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,508,417.69. This trade represents a 9.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,573 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,091 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of RGLD opened at $238.78 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1 year low of $150.75 and a 1 year high of $306.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $257.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $238.48. The firm has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

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

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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