Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 3,121 Shares of Royal Gold, Inc. $RGLD

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,121 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Royal Gold were worth $6,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 1.0% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,055,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,816,267,000 after purchasing an additional 93,282 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $1,867,001,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681,577 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 104.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,994,944 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,001,885,000 after purchasing an additional 2,547,076 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 5.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,321,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $666,300,000 after purchasing an additional 170,430 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Royal Gold by 0.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,030,501 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $206,698,000 after purchasing an additional 6,710 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.65% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RGLD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Gold in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. National Bank Financial reduced their target price on Royal Gold from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Royal Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group set a $325.00 target price on Royal Gold and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Royal Gold from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $335.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 26th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.64.

Royal Gold Stock Performance

RGLD stock opened at $223.09 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $247.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $241.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.43. Royal Gold, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.75 and a 1-year high of $306.25.

Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) (TSE:RGL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by ($0.76). The firm had revenue of $310.83 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.47 million. Royal Gold had a return on equity of 12.63% and a net margin of 48.59%.Royal Gold’s revenue for the quarter was up 85.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Gold, Inc. will post 11.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.475 per share. This represents a $1.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Royal Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 22.65%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Gold

In other Royal Gold news, Director Mark Isto sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.83, for a total transaction of $549,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,508,417.69. This represents a 9.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Daniel Breeze sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.87, for a total value of $421,218.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 20,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,059,521.80. This trade represents a 6.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,573 shares of company stock worth $2,370,831 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Royal Gold 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.