Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $74.50.

Several research firms recently weighed in on WPM. Raymond James raised their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank raised their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 1st quarter valued at $320,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 125.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 58,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 7,265 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter worth about $11,678,000. Finally, Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,063,000. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WPM opened at $70.99 on Friday. Wheaton Precious Metals has a one year low of $49.41 and a one year high of $80.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.98, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.30.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. The company had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This is an increase from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s payout ratio is presently 56.90%.

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.