Jefferies Financial Group Raises Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Price Target to $61.00

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) had its price target hoisted by Jefferies Financial Group from $52.00 to $61.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

WPM has been the subject of several other reports. National Bank Financial downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, TD Securities raised shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the stock from $51.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $59.32.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

NYSE:WPM opened at $52.55 on Monday. Wheaton Precious Metals has a 12-month low of $38.37 and a 12-month high of $54.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.16, a P/E/G ratio of 6.90 and a beta of 0.77.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $313.47 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.29 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 52.92% and a return on equity of 7.76%. Research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 3rd were given a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 2nd. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.10%.

Institutional Trading of Wheaton Precious Metals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $387,481,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 9.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,521,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,012,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,031 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 426.7% during the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 957,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,460,000 after purchasing an additional 775,588 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,585,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $307,583,000 after purchasing an additional 713,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,190,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,587,000 after purchasing an additional 694,583 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.