Royal Bank of Canada Acquires 45,120 Shares of Sprott Inc. $SII

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its Sprott stake by 29.4% in the first quarter, acquiring 45,120 shares for a total holding of 198,432 shares, or 0.77% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 28.30% of Sprott.
• Sprott reported quarterly earnings of $1.13 per share, beating estimates of $0.93, while revenue of $80.75 million also exceeded expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 1.5%.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with an average “Moderate Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $230, substantially above the stock’s reported price of $104.69. RBC raised its target to $230 and maintained an “outperform” rating.

Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII - Free Report) by 29.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 198,432 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,120 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.77% of Sprott worth $28,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SII. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sprott by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 59,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in Sprott during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,948,000. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of Sprott during the second quarter valued at about $203,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Sprott by 1.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 15,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sprott by 4.1% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 67,891 shares of the company's stock worth $4,691,000 after buying an additional 2,644 shares in the last quarter. 28.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sprott Stock Up 0.6%

Sprott stock opened at $104.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.02 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.44. Sprott Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.94 and a 52 week high of $169.63.

Sprott (NYSE:SII - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $80.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $78.06 million. Sprott had a return on equity of 23.54% and a net margin of 21.99%.

Sprott Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Sprott's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on SII. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating on shares of Sprott in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Sprott from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprott from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sprott from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.00.

Sprott Company Profile

Sprott Inc is a Toronto‐based alternative asset manager specializing in precious metals, real assets and related investment vehicles. Founded in 1981 by Eric Sprott, the firm has built a reputation for offering physically backed bullion trusts, exchange‐traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds and private managed accounts that provide exposure to gold, silver, platinum and other hard assets. Sprott's product lineup also includes royalty and streaming strategies, which grant investors long‐term participation in mining project cash flows without direct operational risk.

In addition to its flagship physical bullion trusts, Sprott offers actively managed equity portfolios that focus on companies engaged in the exploration, development and production of precious metals.

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