Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) Hits New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) achieved a new 52-week high, reaching $203.18, and has an active trading volume of over 1 million shares.
• Wall Street analysts have favorable views on Royal Gold, with five analysts rating it as a "Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.63.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 26.39%.

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $203.18 and last traded at $200.09, with a volume of 1084613 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $200.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Royal Gold from $202.00 to $203.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Zacks Research cut Royal Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $237.00 price target (up previously from $229.00) on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.63.

Royal Gold Stock Down 0.2%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.85. The stock has a market cap of $13.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.41.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.11. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 13.30% and a net margin of 56.24%.The firm had revenue of $209.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $186.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Royal Gold's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Royal Gold's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.39%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

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

About Royal Gold

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.

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