Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies increased its Royal Gold position by 336.5% in the first quarter, acquiring 64,280 additional shares for a total holding of 83,380 shares valued at approximately $21.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.65% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with nine Buy ratings, three Holds and one Sell; Royal Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.27.
• Royal Gold shares opened at $195.48, well below their 12-month high of $306.25. The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.475 per share, equivalent to $1.90 annually and a 1.0% yield.

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 336.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,380 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 64,280 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.10% of Royal Gold worth $21,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Royal Gold by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 1,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,526 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,905 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $739,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 181 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 7,432 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,891,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RGLD shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Royal Gold from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Royal Gold from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial dropped their price target on Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.27.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $195.48 on Thursday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $150.99 and a 12-month high of $306.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $241.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 3.52 and a quick ratio of 3.26.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Gold's payout ratio is 22.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,213,646.68. This trade represents a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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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