Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Friday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $9.00 to $9.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sandstorm Gold currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $8.25.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Performance

NYSE:SAND opened at $6.01 on Friday. Sandstorm Gold has a 52-week low of $3.96 and a 52-week high of $6.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.69 and its 200 day moving average is $5.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.99 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.06 and a beta of 1.14.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $41.37 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.50 million. Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 2.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.01 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.015 dividend. This is a boost from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 62.50%.

Institutional Trading of Sandstorm Gold

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,542,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $160,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703,874 shares during the period. Sagil Capital LLP bought a new stake in Sandstorm Gold during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,041,000. Helikon Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Sandstorm Gold during the 1st quarter valued at $6,771,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. bought a new stake in Sandstorm Gold in the 1st quarter worth $6,537,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 42.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,149,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,162,000 after acquiring an additional 935,005 shares during the period. 51.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.