Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short Interest Growth: Royal Gold experienced a significant increase in short interest of 82.2% in July, bringing the total to approximately 1,950,000 shares, which is about 3.0% of the company's total shares.
• Positive Earnings Report: The company reported earnings per share of $1.51 for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.37, with a revenue increase of 29.9% year-over-year.
• Quarterly Dividend Announced: Royal Gold declared a quarterly dividend of $0.45, yielding 1.1%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 29.80%.

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,950,000 shares, anincreaseof82.2% from the June 30th total of 1,070,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 676,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently,3.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Currently,3.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 676,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Gold in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 548.1% in the 2nd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 175 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 56.8% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company's stock.

Royal Gold Stock Up 0.7%

RGLD stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $161.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,130,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 922,135. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $169.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.93. The stock has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.40. Royal Gold has a 12 month low of $127.31 and a 12 month high of $191.78.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.19. Royal Gold had a net margin of 52.15% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The company's revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Royal Gold will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.80%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RGLD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Gold from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $166.00 to $189.00 in a research report on Monday, April 14th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Royal Gold from $202.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $202.00 to $203.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $197.00 price objective on Royal Gold and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Royal Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.13.

Royal Gold Company Profile

Royal Gold, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, acquires and manages precious metal streams, royalties, and related interests. The company engages in acquiring stream and royalty interests or to finance projects that are in production, development, or in the exploration stage in exchange for stream or royalty interests, which primarily consists of gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and other metals.