Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wheaton Precious Metals has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, the stock has received a mix of ratings from other analysts, including one "Strong Buy" and eight "Buy," resulting in an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $97.33.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected earnings with a $0.63 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analyst estimates and showing significant revenue growth of 68.2% year-over-year.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Sunday morning.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on WPM. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group set a $106.00 price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $97.33.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WPM traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $101.56. 3,258,398 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,850,194. The company has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 58.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $93.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.43. Wheaton Precious Metals has a twelve month low of $55.47 and a twelve month high of $103.81.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 47.46% and a return on equity of 11.96%. The firm had revenue of $503.22 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $424.23 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 68.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Wheaton Precious Metals's payout ratio is presently 38.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,554,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,668,582,000 after buying an additional 557,793 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 9,424,930 shares of the company's stock valued at $530,057,000 after buying an additional 447,702 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 7,512,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $582,876,000 after buying an additional 355,533 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $656,463,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,120,087 shares of the company's stock valued at $460,736,000 after buying an additional 478,236 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.34% of the company's stock.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.