K2 Principal Fund L.P. Invests $2.12 Million in Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

K2 Principal Fund L.P. acquired a new stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,121,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Gold during the 2nd quarter worth $2,177,865,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Royal Gold by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,733,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,163,732,000 after buying an additional 678,732 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 25.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,398,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,867,001,000 after buying an additional 1,681,577 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,900,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,311,607,000 after buying an additional 905,488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Royal Gold by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,718,646 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $826,618,000 after acquiring an additional 396,778 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.85, for a total value of $107,925.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,852,424.70. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of RGLD opened at $230.43 on Wednesday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 12-month low of $166.51 and a 12-month high of $306.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $207.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.55 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $468.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $458.85 million. Royal Gold had a net margin of 47.74% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Royal Gold’s quarterly revenue was up 114.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 10.33 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 2nd. Royal Gold’s payout ratio is presently 20.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Royal Gold from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research cut Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Royal Gold from $318.00 to $311.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Royal Gold from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $285.10.

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.