Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 209,868 Shares of OR Royalties Inc. $OR

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in OR Royalties by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 209,868 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,327,678 shares worth about $47.1 million.
• OR Royalties reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting EPS of $0.40 versus estimates of $0.34, while revenue came in at $102.83 million, roughly in line with expectations.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.065 per share from $0.06, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $46.50.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of OR Royalties Inc. (NYSE:OR - Free Report) by 18.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,327,678 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 209,868 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.71% of OR Royalties worth $47,062,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of OR. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of OR Royalties by 20.5% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,561,057 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $623,686,000 after acquiring an additional 2,650,333 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of OR Royalties by 39.2% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 7,543,667 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $302,419,000 after acquiring an additional 2,124,421 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of OR Royalties during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,210,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of OR Royalties by 152.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,256,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $26,539,000 after acquiring an additional 758,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of OR Royalties by 85.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,543,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $61,858,000 after acquiring an additional 710,654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.52% of the company's stock.

OR Royalties Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:OR opened at $38.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.69 and a beta of 0.71. OR Royalties Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.40 and a 52 week high of $48.06. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $39.87 and a 200 day moving average of $38.14.

OR Royalties (NYSE:OR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $102.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.27 million. OR Royalties had a net margin of 78.09% and a return on equity of 15.10%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that OR Royalties Inc. will post 1.36 EPS for the current year.

OR Royalties Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.065 dividend. This is an increase from OR Royalties's previous quarterly dividend of $0.06. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. OR Royalties's dividend payout ratio is presently 16.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on OR. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of OR Royalties in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of OR Royalties from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating on shares of OR Royalties in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of OR Royalties in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of OR Royalties from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, OR Royalties has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.50.

About OR Royalties

OR Royalties PLC NYSE: OR is a closed-ended investment company that specializes in acquiring and managing royalty interests in life science and pharmaceutical products. The company provides capital to biotechnology, specialty pharmaceutical and medical device companies in exchange for a share of future sales revenues. By focusing on royalties secured against marketed products, OR Royalties aims to deliver income and growth potential while minimizing the development and commercialization risks typically associated with direct equity stakes.

The company's core activities include sourcing royalty transactions, structuring bespoke financing solutions and actively monitoring a diversified portfolio of assets.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.