Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) Price Target Raised to $7.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) had its target price raised by Royal Bank of Canada from $6.50 to $7.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

SAND has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Sandstorm Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Sandstorm Gold from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $12.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sandstorm Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.81.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Performance

NYSE SAND opened at $6.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Sandstorm Gold has a 1-year low of $4.92 and a 1-year high of $7.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.73 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.05.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.03). Sandstorm Gold had a return on equity of 0.98% and a net margin of 8.11%. The business had revenue of $47.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Sandstorm Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.014 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAND. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 39,289.9% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,812,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,751,000 after buying an additional 9,787,105 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 580.6% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,314,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,600 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 77.9% in the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,465,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,916 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,691,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 74.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,890,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,447,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,050 shares in the last quarter. 51.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sandstorm Gold

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. operates as a gold royalty company. The company focuses on acquiring royalties and gold and other metals purchase agreements from companies that have advanced stage operating mines. It offers upfront payments for companies to acquire a stream and receives the right to purchase a percentage of a mine's production for the life of the mine.