Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $9.25.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $11.50 to $11.75 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Raymond James set a $9.75 price target on shares of Sandstorm Gold and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sandstorm Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $7.25 to $8.25 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:SAND opened at $8.76 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.00 and its 200 day moving average is $6.63. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 175.14 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 2.29. Sandstorm Gold has a 1 year low of $4.92 and a 1 year high of $8.91.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.01). Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 0.98%. The firm had revenue of $50.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.61 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.18 EPS for the current year.

Sandstorm Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th were paid a $0.014 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 14th. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Boston Partners lifted its position in Sandstorm Gold by 39,289.9% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,812,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 9,787,105 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold during the 1st quarter valued at about $15,617,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 580.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,314,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,916,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,600 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. raised its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,465,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,925,000 after buying an additional 1,955,916 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 731.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,032,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,348,000 after buying an additional 1,788,404 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.97% of the company’s stock.

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.