Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.25.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FNV. Weiss Ratings raised Franco-Nevada from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Franco-Nevada in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Franco-Nevada from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research cut shares of Franco-Nevada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut shares of Franco-Nevada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Franco-Nevada

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFG Investments LLC grew its position in Franco-Nevada by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,159 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Composition Wealth LLC boosted its position in Franco-Nevada by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 6,108 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,266,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Franco-Nevada by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 5,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in Franco-Nevada by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 2,443 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $506,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Guardian Partners Inc. boosted its position in Franco-Nevada by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. now owns 1,692 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 77.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Franco-Nevada Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:FNV opened at $261.39 on Friday. Franco-Nevada has a twelve month low of $152.89 and a twelve month high of $285.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $252.14 and a 200-day moving average of $226.14. The firm has a market cap of $50.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.47.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 10th. The basic materials company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $597.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $542.02 million. Franco-Nevada had a net margin of 61.01% and a return on equity of 15.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 86.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.95 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Franco-Nevada will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Franco-Nevada’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Franco-Nevada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.56%.

About Franco-Nevada

Franco-Nevada Corporation is a Toronto-based royalty and streaming company that specializes in securing and managing long-term interests in mining properties. The firm focuses primarily on precious metals, particularly gold, while also holding interests related to silver, copper, platinum-group metals and select base metals. Rather than operating mines directly, Franco-Nevada acquires royalty and streaming agreements that entitle it to a percentage of production or revenue from producing and developing assets in exchange for upfront or staged financing.

The company’s business model centers on providing capital to mining companies in return for a sustained share of production or metal revenue, which can reduce exposure to operating and capital cost risks typical of mine operators.