Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Receives $83.40 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the twelve research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.40.

WPM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Canada raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $129.00 price target for the company.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WPM traded up $2.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $85.86. 2,047,786 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,821. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $76.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.39. The company has a market capitalization of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.49. Wheaton Precious Metals has a 1-year low of $51.96 and a 1-year high of $87.42.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $380.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.74 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio is 56.90%.

Institutional Trading of Wheaton Precious Metals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPM. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 129.3% in the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 415 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.