Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $2.85 Million in Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 511,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,853,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Sandstorm Gold as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 61,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 19,595 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. raised its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. U S Global Investors Inc. now owns 909,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,076,000 after acquiring an additional 216,756 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $93,000. Sprott Inc. grew its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 77.9% during the fourth quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,465,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,925,000 after buying an additional 1,955,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Sandstorm Gold by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SAND shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. HC Wainwright reduced their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $12.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Sandstorm Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.56.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Performance

NYSE SAND opened at $7.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $6.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $6.00. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.53 and a beta of 1.06. Sandstorm Gold Ltd. has a 12-month low of $4.92 and a 12-month high of $7.74.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.04 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $47.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.49 million. Sandstorm Gold had a net margin of 8.11% and a return on equity of 0.98%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.04) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Sandstorm Gold Ltd. will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sandstorm Gold Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.014 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Sandstorm Gold’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Sandstorm Gold 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.