Sprott (NYSE:SII) Trading Up 5.5% Following Strong Earnings

Sprott Inc. (NYSE:SII)’s stock price rose 5.5% on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $141.86 and last traded at $138.0240. Approximately 78,387 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 261,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $130.79.

The company reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $61.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $69.12 million. Sprott had a return on equity of 15.01% and a net margin of 23.26%.

Sprott Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Sprott’s dividend payout ratio is currently 82.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Sprott from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Sprott in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sprott from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Sprott in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sprott currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $132.00.

Institutional Trading of Sprott

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sprott in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Sprott by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new position in Sprott during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sprott in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sprott by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC now owns 800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 28.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sprott Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.47 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $113.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.30.

About Sprott

Sprott Inc is a Toronto‐based alternative asset manager specializing in precious metals, real assets and related investment vehicles. Founded in 1981 by Eric Sprott, the firm has built a reputation for offering physically backed bullion trusts, exchange‐traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds and private managed accounts that provide exposure to gold, silver, platinum and other hard assets. Sprott’s product lineup also includes royalty and streaming strategies, which grant investors long‐term participation in mining project cash flows without direct operational risk.

In addition to its flagship physical bullion trusts, Sprott offers actively managed equity portfolios that focus on companies engaged in the exploration, development and production of precious metals.