Verity Asset Management Inc. Sells 13,928 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Key Points

• Verity Asset Management cut its Royal Gold stake by 51.3%, selling 13,928 shares and now owns 13,198 shares valued at about $2.93 million (the fund's 12th largest holding).
• Company insiders sold a total of 7,573 shares (~$2.13 million) in the past three months — including SVP Daniel Breeze and Director Mark Isto — leaving insiders with just 0.35% ownership.
• Royal Gold missed quarterly estimates (EPS $1.92 vs. $2.68 consensus; revenue $310.8M vs. $425.5M consensus) despite revenue rising 85% year-over-year; the stock trades near $235.60 and analysts' average target is about $273.64.

Verity Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Free Report) TSE: RGL by 51.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 13,928 shares during the period. Royal Gold comprises about 1.3% of Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Verity Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $2,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in Royal Gold by 600.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 140 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Gold by 8,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 170 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 20,140 shares in the company, valued at $6,059,521.80. This represents a 6.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark Isto sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.83, for a total transaction of $549,660.00. Following the sale, the director owned 20,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,508,417.69. This trade represents a 9.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,573 shares of company stock worth $2,127,091 over the last three months. 0.35% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Gold Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of RGLD traded up $4.58 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $235.60. 58,692 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,411. Royal Gold, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $150.75 and a fifty-two week high of $306.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $261.42 and a 200-day moving average of $237.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 45.26%.The firm had revenue of $310.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.47 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 85.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 12.27 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on RGLD shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Royal Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Scotiabank cut shares of Royal Gold from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $335.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, UBS Group set a $325.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Gold has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.64.

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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