Sprott Inc. $SII Shares Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America more than doubled its Sprott stake in the first quarter, acquiring 73,982 additional shares for a total holding of 134,756 shares worth approximately $19.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 28.3% of Sprott.
• Sprott shares recently rose 2.7% to $120.78, but the company narrowly missed quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.33 in EPS versus the $1.34 consensus and revenue of $71.78 million versus $82.45 million expected.
• Sprott announced a quarterly dividend of $0.40 per share, equivalent to $1.60 annually and a 1.3% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $230, despite some recent rating downgrades.

Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII - Free Report) by 121.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,756 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 73,982 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.52% of Sprott worth $19,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sprott by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 401 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Sprott by 29.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 198,432 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,355,000 after acquiring an additional 45,120 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Sprott during the first quarter worth approximately $1,521,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Sprott by 13.1% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 71,499 shares of the company's stock worth $10,194,000 after purchasing an additional 8,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Sprott in the first quarter worth approximately $350,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Sprott Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of Sprott stock opened at $120.78 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $112.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.74. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.60 and a beta of 0.83. Sprott Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.94 and a 1 year high of $169.63.

Sprott (NYSE:SII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.01). Sprott had a net margin of 26.36% and a return on equity of 28.40%. The company had revenue of $71.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $82.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share.

Sprott Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Sprott's payout ratio is 39.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SII shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sprott from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Sprott from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Sprott in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Sprott from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $230.00.

Sprott 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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