Short Interest in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) Grows By 32.6%

Key Points

• The short interest in Royal Gold, Inc. increased by 32.6% from July to August, reaching a total of 2,970,000 shares, representing 4.5% of the company's stock.
• Royal Gold reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.81 for the quarter, exceeding expectations and marking a 20.4% revenue growth year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with a yield of 1.0%, to be paid on October 17th for investors of record on October 3rd.

Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,970,000 shares, agrowthof32.6% from the July 31st total of 2,240,000 shares. Currently,4.5% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 779,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 779,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days. Currently,4.5% of the company's stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RGLD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $202.00 to $203.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets set a $197.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $237.00 price target (up previously from $229.00) on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Royal Gold from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Royal Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $198.63.

Royal Gold Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $186.43 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $167.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.27. Royal Gold has a 52 week low of $130.67 and a 52 week high of $191.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.43.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD - Get Free Report) TSE: RGL last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.11. Royal Gold had a net margin of 56.24% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $209.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Royal Gold will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 17th. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 3rd. Royal Gold's payout ratio is 26.39%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Gold

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. PFG Investments LLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 5,938 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. BCS Wealth Management raised its position in Royal Gold by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. BCS Wealth Management now owns 20,704 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,385,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in Royal Gold by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 1,586 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Royal Gold by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,061 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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