Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,325 Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,325 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $302,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $455,000. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $2,299,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Royal Gold by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,273 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $171.14 on Friday. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.72 and a 1 year high of $191.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.41. The firm has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.48.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The basic materials company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.14. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 11.46% and a net margin of 46.15%. The business had revenue of $193.44 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.17 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 earnings per share. Royal Gold’s quarterly revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 EPS for the current year.

Royal Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 4th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on RGLD shares. CIBC increased their price objective on Royal Gold from $202.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Raymond James increased their target price on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded Royal Gold from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $166.00 to $189.00 in a report on Monday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.00.

About Royal Gold

Royal Gold, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, acquires and manages precious metal streams, royalties, and related interests. The company engages in acquiring stream and royalty interests or to finance projects that are in production, development, or in the exploration stage in exchange for stream or royalty interests, which primarily consists of gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc, lead, and other metals.