BDF Gestion Lowers Holdings in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

BDF Gestion lowered its position in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,842 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,088 shares during the period. BDF Gestion’s holdings in Royal Gold were worth $2,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at about $426,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $966,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 7.1% during the third quarter. Central Valley Advisors LLC now owns 8,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $299,000. Finally, Sonora Investment Management Group LLC bought a new position in Royal Gold in the third quarter worth approximately $317,000. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $227.64 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.67 and a fifty-two week high of $229.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a current ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.67.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $250.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.11 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 14.14% and a net margin of 55.99%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RGLD. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Raymond James Financial set a $264.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Thursday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets set a $240.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Gold from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Royal Gold from $261.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.60.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, is a leading precious metals streaming and royalty company. Through its business model, Royal Gold provides upfront financing to mining operators in exchange for the right to purchase a percentage of future metal production at predetermined prices. This structure allows the company to participate in production upside while minimizing exposure to the operating and capital-intensive aspects of mine ownership.

The company’s portfolio encompasses interests in over 200 streams and royalties on projects across North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Australia.