Trexquant Investment LP Makes New $2.92 Million Investment in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,918,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Royal Gold by 61.1% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 290 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Royal Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Royal Gold by 390.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Royal Gold by 66.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 395 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. 83.65% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on RGLD. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $178.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Royal Gold from $181.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Royal Gold from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.75.

Royal Gold Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RGLD opened at $155.60 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.77. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $118.00 and a 1-year high of $169.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.57.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.17. Royal Gold had a net margin of 46.15% and a return on equity of 11.46%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 6.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.71%.

Insider Activity at Royal Gold

In related news, SVP Randy Shefman sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.98, for a total transaction of $201,474.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,450,612.80. This trade represents a 12.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Gold Profile

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.