Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $63.81, but opened at $61.61. Wheaton Precious Metals shares last traded at $62.05, with a volume of 18,019 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Canada downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group began coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Raymond James lifted their target price 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, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.67.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $28.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.24.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. The business had revenue of $308.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.57 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st will be issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s payout ratio is 46.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $47,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 200.9% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.34% of the company’s stock.

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.