Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Short Interest Update

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,260,000 shares, an increase of 34.5% from the January 31st total of 1,680,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,610,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SAND shares. HC Wainwright cut their price target on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $12.00 to $11.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $6.75 to $7.25 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sandstorm Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $8.56.

Sandstorm Gold Stock Up 3.8 %

SAND opened at $6.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.29, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.93 and a beta of 1.06. Sandstorm Gold has a twelve month low of $4.56 and a twelve month high of $6.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $5.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.87.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.03). The company 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 previous year, the firm earned ($0.04) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. Sandstorm Gold’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Sandstorm Gold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 21.0% in 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 during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 501,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,805,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 399,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,229,000 after purchasing an additional 3,640 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 24,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 129,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.97% of the company’s stock.

Sandstorm Gold Company 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.