Sandstorm Gold (SAND) Competitors

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) and Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Is SAND or RGLD a better dividend stock?

Sandstorm Gold pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Royal Gold pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Sandstorm Gold pays out 50.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Royal Gold pays out 26.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Royal Gold has raised its dividend for 25 consecutive years. Royal Gold is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor SAND or RGLD?

In the previous week, Royal Gold had 17 more articles in the media than Sandstorm Gold. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Royal Gold and 2 mentions for Sandstorm Gold. Sandstorm Gold's average media sentiment score of 1.45 beat Royal Gold's score of 1.20 indicating that Sandstorm Gold is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sandstorm Gold	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Royal Gold	14 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of SAND or RGLD?

52.0% of Sandstorm Gold shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.7% of Royal Gold shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Sandstorm Gold shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Royal Gold shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend SAND or RGLD?

Sandstorm Gold presently has a consensus price target of $10.15, indicating a potential downside of 7.35%. Royal Gold has a consensus price target of $198.63, indicating a potential upside of 12.84%. Given Royal Gold's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Royal Gold is more favorable than Sandstorm Gold.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sandstorm Gold	1 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
Royal Gold	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

Is SAND or RGLD more profitable?

Royal Gold has a net margin of 56.24% compared to Sandstorm Gold's net margin of 17.78%. Royal Gold's return on equity of 13.30% beat Sandstorm Gold's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sandstorm Gold	17.78%	2.38%	1.87%
Royal Gold	56.24%	13.30%	12.32%

Which has better earnings & valuation, SAND or RGLD?

Royal Gold has higher revenue and earnings than Sandstorm Gold. Royal Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sandstorm Gold, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sandstorm Gold	$176.28M	18.22	$14.29M	$0.12	91.29
Royal Gold	$719.40M	16.11	$332.02M	$6.82	25.81

Which has more risk & volatility, SAND or RGLD?

Sandstorm Gold has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its stock price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Royal Gold has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Royal Gold beats Sandstorm Gold on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.