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 report released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on SAND. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note 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 raised their target price on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $11.00 to $11.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $8.25.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Down 2.6 %

Sandstorm Gold stock opened at $6.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of 76.13 and a beta of 1.14. Sandstorm Gold has a 12-month low of $3.96 and a 12-month high of $6.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $5.68 and its 200 day moving average is $5.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.99, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 17.55% and a return on equity of 2.06%. The business had revenue of $41.37 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. This is an increase from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SAND. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 5.9% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 30,542,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703,874 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Sandstorm Gold by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,452,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,696,000 after purchasing an additional 434,460 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. grew its position in Sandstorm Gold by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,048,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,365,000 after purchasing an additional 242,554 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 2.2% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 3,634,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,766,000 after buying an additional 78,032 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 worth $17,162,000 after buying an additional 935,005 shares during the last quarter. 51.97% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.