Sandstorm Gold Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:SAND)

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock traders bought 2,772 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 36% compared to the average volume of 2,043 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SAND. Boston Partners lifted its position in Sandstorm Gold by 39,289.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,812,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 9,787,105 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,246 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,394,000 after buying an additional 1,691,296 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,974,343 shares of the company's stock worth $27,781,000 after buying an additional 913,527 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,465,843 shares of the company's stock worth $24,925,000 after buying an additional 1,955,916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 74.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,890,535 shares of the company's stock worth $16,447,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,050 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.97% of the company's stock.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of SAND traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $8.43. The company had a trading volume of 4,094,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,464,289. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 168.63 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $7.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $6.27. Sandstorm Gold has a 52-week low of $4.92 and a 52-week high of $8.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 1.95.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.03). Sandstorm Gold had a return on equity of 0.98% and a net margin of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $47.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.04) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandstorm Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were issued a $0.014 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Sandstorm Gold's payout ratio is 100.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SAND has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank raised their price target on Sandstorm Gold from $7.25 to $8.25 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sandstorm Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. HC Wainwright decreased their price objective on Sandstorm Gold from $12.00 to $11.50 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Sandstorm Gold in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sandstorm Gold has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $9.06.

Sandstorm Gold Company Profile

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine.