Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) Short Interest Down 25.9% in December

Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (NYSE:SAND) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,780,000 shares, a decrease of 25.9% from the November 30th total of 3,750,000 shares. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days.

Sandstorm Gold Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:SAND traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $5.47. 2,581,634 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,484,448. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 2.29. The firm has a market cap of $1.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.59 and a beta of 1.11. Sandstorm Gold has a 1 year low of $3.96 and a 1 year high of $6.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.71.

Sandstorm Gold (NYSE:SAND) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.03 by ($0.01). Sandstorm Gold had a return on equity of 2.44% and a net margin of 20.46%. The business had revenue of $44.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.70 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Sandstorm Gold will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Sandstorm Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 21st will be issued a $0.02 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 21st. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Sandstorm Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Sandstorm Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Institutional Trading of Sandstorm Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Sandstorm Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at $60,000. Walleye Trading LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold in the third quarter worth $85,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Sandstorm Gold in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Oxbow Advisors LLC raised its position in Sandstorm Gold by 34.3% in the second quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 20,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 5,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Sandstorm Gold in the 3rd quarter worth about $153,000. 51.97% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on SAND. StockNews.com downgraded Sandstorm Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Sandstorm Gold from $6.50 to $6.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, HC Wainwright boosted their price objective on shares of Sandstorm Gold from $11.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sandstorm Gold presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $8.50.

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.