Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Given New $340.00 Price Target at National Bank Financial

Key Points

• National Bank Financial cut its price target on Royal Gold to $340 (from $350) but kept an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 26.5% upside from the current price.
• Quarterly results missed estimates: EPS was $1.92 vs. $2.68 expected and revenue was $310.8M vs. $425.5M expected, though revenue rose ~85% year‑over‑year and shares traded near $268.80.
• Insiders have recently sold shares (7,573 shares, about $2.13M), insiders own 0.49% of the stock while institutional investors hold about 83.65%.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at National Bank Financial from $350.00 to $340.00 in a report issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the basic materials company's stock. National Bank Financial's price target points to a potential upside of 26.49% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on RGLD. Zacks Research downgraded Royal Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. UBS Group set a $325.00 target price on Royal Gold and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Royal Gold from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $335.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.64.

Royal Gold Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of RGLD stock traded up $6.67 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $268.80. 525,013 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,068,229. The stock's 50 day moving average is $266.63 and its 200-day moving average is $233.86. The company has a market cap of $22.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 3.12, a quick ratio of 2.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Royal Gold has a fifty-two week low of $150.75 and a fifty-two week high of $306.25.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.68 by ($0.76). The business had revenue of $310.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.47 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 45.26%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 85.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Royal Gold will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 1,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.87, for a total value of $421,218.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 20,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,059,521.80. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William M. Hayes sold 4,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director directly owned 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,698,162.03. This represents a 40.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,573 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,091. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,981,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Royal Gold by 32.4% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,403 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,956,000 after buying an additional 5,732 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,170,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in Royal Gold by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 17,230 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,385,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, McAlvany Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,090,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.65% 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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