Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) saw a large increase in short interest in 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. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,610,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Sandstorm Gold Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Sandstorm Gold stock opened at $6.17 on Tuesday. Sandstorm Gold has a 1 year low of $4.50 and a 1 year high of $6.67. The firm has a market cap of $1.83 billion, a PE ratio of 123.42 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $5.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $5.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 2.29.

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

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were given a dividend of $0.02 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 21st. This is a positive change from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. This represents a $0.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sandstorm Gold

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAND. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. purchased a new stake in Sandstorm Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sandstorm Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Meixler Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Sandstorm Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd bought a new position in Sandstorm Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Sandstorm Gold by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.97% of the company’s stock.

About Sandstorm Gold

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.