Brokerages Set Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) Target Price at $257.25

Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $257.25.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FNV. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Franco-Nevada in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $228.00 target price on shares of Franco-Nevada in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. HC Wainwright increased their target price on Franco-Nevada from $285.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Franco-Nevada from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Franco-Nevada in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franco-Nevada

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in Franco-Nevada by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Franco-Nevada by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 6,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Franco-Nevada by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 5,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Franco-Nevada Stock Performance

Shares of FNV opened at $222.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.60, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $252.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.41. Franco-Nevada has a 1 year low of $140.03 and a 1 year high of $285.67.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 10th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $597.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $542.02 million. Franco-Nevada had a net margin of 61.01% and a return on equity of 15.62%. Franco-Nevada’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Franco-Nevada will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This is a boost from Franco-Nevada’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Franco-Nevada’s dividend payout ratio is 30.56%.

About Franco-Nevada

Franco-Nevada Corporation is a Toronto-based royalty and streaming company that specializes in securing and managing long-term interests in mining properties. The firm focuses primarily on precious metals, particularly gold, while also holding interests related to silver, copper, platinum-group metals and select base metals. Rather than operating mines directly, Franco-Nevada acquires royalty and streaming agreements that entitle it to a percentage of production or revenue from producing and developing assets in exchange for upfront or staged financing.

The company’s business model centers on providing capital to mining companies in return for a sustained share of production or metal revenue, which can reduce exposure to operating and capital cost risks typical of mine operators.