Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,680,000 shares, a decrease of 43.4% from the January 15th total of 2,970,000 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,300,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAND has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright boosted their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sandstorm Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $8.50.

Institutional Trading of Sandstorm Gold

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 39,289.9% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,812,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 9,787,105 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. grew its position in Sandstorm Gold by 77.9% during the 4th quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 4,465,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955,916 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Sandstorm Gold by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,522,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691,296 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Sandstorm Gold by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,890,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,447,000 after buying an additional 1,238,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold by 935.5% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,330,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202,144 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.97% of the company’s stock.

Sandstorm Gold Price Performance

SAND traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $6.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,126,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,342,739. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.29 and a current ratio of 2.29. Sandstorm Gold has a 1 year low of $3.96 and a 1 year high of $6.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $5.75 and a 200 day moving average of $5.78. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.63 and a beta of 1.10.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. This is a boost from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

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.