BDF Gestion Sells 3,088 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

BDF Gestion reduced its position in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 17.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RGLD. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Gold by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,820,435 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $319,140,000 after acquiring an additional 137,524 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Royal Gold by 3.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,751,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $311,457,000 after purchasing an additional 61,352 shares during the last quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its stake in Royal Gold by 1.4% during the first quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 1,241,030 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $202,921,000 after purchasing an additional 16,600 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Royal Gold by 19.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $165,095,000 after purchasing an additional 151,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Royal Gold by 52.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 833,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $148,173,000 after buying an additional 286,268 shares in the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of RGLD stock opened at $227.64 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $193.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.67. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.67 and a 52-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 P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Royal Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors 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 yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Royal Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RGLD. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Sunday, December 7th. CIBC lifted their target price on Royal Gold from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $264.00 price target on Royal Gold in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Gold currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.60.

Royal Gold Company Profile

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.