Royal Gold (RGLD) Hikes Annual Dividend by 5%, Shares Up - Analyst Blog

Royal Gold Inc. (RGLD) has announced a 5% hike in its annual dividend to 88 cents per share from 84 cents per share. On a quarterly basis, the company will pay 22 cents per share.

Royal Gold's shares rose as much as 5.4% in the trading session following the announcement. The stock closed at $67.90 last Friday, gaining around 5.1%.

Royal Gold declared that the quarterly dividend of 22 cents per share will be payable on Jan 16, 2015, to shareholders of record as of Jan 2, 2015. The dividend is also payable to holders of exchangeable shares of RG Exchangeco. Royal Gold is aiming at increasing its shareholder return. The company is well positioned to provide a growing and sustainable dividend to its stakeholders.

Royal Gold released its first-quarter fiscal 2015 (ended Sep 30, 2014) results on Oct 29, 2014. The company posted earnings of 29 cents per share in the reported quarter compared with 23 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. Excluding asset impairment costs, earnings were 31 cents per share in the quarter. The increase in earnings was primarily attributable to a rise in revenue.

The company's royalty revenue was $69 million in the first quarter of 2014 compared with $56.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Revenue in the quarter was higher than the year-ago quarter, mainly due to new production at Mt. Milligan and increase in production at Cortez and Penasquito.

Royal Gold announced that its fully-owned subsidiary RGLD Gold AG received around 13,600 ounces of gold from the Mt. Milligan mine for the quarter ended Sep 30, 2014, as part of its purchase and sale deal with Thompson Creek Metals Company, Inc. The company purchased around 13,600 ounces of physical gold, which came from a combination of provisional and final settlements associated with five shipments of concentrate from Mt. Milligan.

The gold deliveries consists of roughly 7,000 ounces upon final settlement of Thompson Creek's third, fourth and fifth shipments from the Mt. Milligan mine and around 6,000 ounces upon provisional payment associated with Thompson Creek's eighth and ninth shipments.

Royal Gold currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Other companies in the mining industry worth a look include Banro Corp. (BAA), Lake Shore Gold Corp. (LSG) and MAG Silver Corp. (MVG). All of them carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).