Sprott (NYSE:SII) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Key Points

• Sprott Inc. reported earnings of $0.52 per share, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.38, leading to a 51% increase in trading volume with approximately 252,366 shares exchanged.
• Despite the positive earnings report, TD Securities downgraded Sprott's stock from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating shortly before the earnings announcement.
• Institutional investors now hold 28.30% of Sprott's shares, with notable investments including Deutsche Bank AG, which increased its stake by over 100% in the last quarter.

Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII - Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. 252,366 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 51% from the previous session's volume of 166,708 shares.The stock last traded at $64.98 and had previously closed at $68.58.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Sprott's payout ratio is presently 62.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, TD Securities lowered Sprott from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Sprott Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a PE ratio of 34.72 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.34.

Sprott (NYSE:SII - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.14. Sprott had a return on equity of 15.04% and a net margin of 25.21%. The firm had revenue of $41.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.66 million.

Institutional Trading of Sprott

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sprott Inc. raised its stake in Sprott by 1.5% during the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 1,584,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,105,000 after buying an additional 23,500 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sprott during the second quarter valued at approximately $50,428,000. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in Sprott by 41.0% during the first quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 602,308 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,988,000 after buying an additional 175,200 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Sprott by 5,047.2% during the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 370,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,634,000 after buying an additional 363,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sprott by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Jacobs Asset Management LLC now owns 288,779 shares of the company's stock worth $12,958,000 after purchasing an additional 29,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.30% of the company's stock.

Sprott Company Profile

Sprott Inc is a publicly owned asset management holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the firm provides asset management, portfolio management, wealth management, fund management, and administrative and consulting services to its clients. It offers mutual funds, hedge funds, and offshore funds, along with managed accounts.