Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

SAND has been the topic of a number of other reports. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sandstorm Gold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $8.35.

Sandstorm Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SAND opened at $5.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.67 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $5.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.72. Sandstorm Gold has a 1-year low of $3.96 and a 1-year high of $6.50.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $44.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.70 million. Sandstorm Gold had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 20.46%. Analysts forecast that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.015 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a boost from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. Sandstorm Gold’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

Institutional Trading of Sandstorm Gold

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sagil Capital LLP acquired a new position in Sandstorm Gold during the second quarter worth approximately $8,041,000. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Sandstorm Gold in the 1st quarter valued at $6,537,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,149,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,162,000 after purchasing an additional 935,005 shares during the period. Helikon Investments Ltd grew its position in Sandstorm Gold by 61.8% during the 2nd quarter. Helikon Investments Ltd now owns 2,086,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,351,000 after purchasing an additional 796,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in Sandstorm Gold in the first quarter valued at $1,902,000. 51.97% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sandstorm Gold Company Profile

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.