Short Interest in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Drops By 61.5%

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 3,130,000 shares, a decrease of 61.5% from the November 15th total of 8,120,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WPM. UBS Group began coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Canada downgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WPM. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 6.1% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 3,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 34,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,110,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 21,575 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.34% of the company’s stock.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:WPM traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.56. 1,418,596 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,766,510. Wheaton Precious Metals has a 1-year low of $38.57 and a 1-year high of $68.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.99 and a 200 day moving average of $59.79.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.34. The business had revenue of $308.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.57 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 8.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 1.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. Wheaton Precious Metals’s payout ratio is currently 46.27%.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.