U S Global Investors Inc. Purchases 84,658 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• U S Global Investors dramatically increased its stake in Royal Gold, buying 84,658 shares (a 3,713.1% increase) to hold 86,938 shares worth $19,325,000, making RGLD its 11th-largest position and ~2.1% of the firm's holdings.
• Royal Gold missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.92 versus $2.68 estimates and revenue of $310.8M versus $425.5M expected, although revenue was up 85.2% year-over-year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $273.64 target; the stock trades in a 52-week range of $150.75–$306.25, has a $21.3B market cap and a 0.8% dividend yield.

U S Global Investors Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 3,713.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,938 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 84,658 shares during the period. Royal Gold makes up about 2.1% of U S Global Investors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. U S Global Investors Inc. owned 0.10% of Royal Gold worth $19,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RGLD. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,055,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,816,267,000 after buying an additional 93,282 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 104.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,994,944 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,001,885,000 after buying an additional 2,547,076 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $666,300,000 after buying an additional 170,430 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $206,698,000 after buying an additional 6,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,002,789 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $201,139,000 after buying an additional 74,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on RGLD shares. National Bank Financial decreased their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Royal Gold from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $335.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 26th. UBS Group set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Tuesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.64.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of Royal Gold stock opened at $251.25 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $150.75 and a 52-week high of $306.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $264.68 and a 200-day moving average of $235.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a current ratio of 3.12.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $310.83 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $425.47 million. Royal Gold had a net margin of 45.26% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 85.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 12.19 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 6,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,698,162.03. This represents a 40.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.87, for a total transaction of $421,218.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,059,521.80. The trade was a 6.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 7,573 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,091 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company's stock.

About Royal Gold

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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