Analysts Set Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Price Target at $71.67

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the ten analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.67.

Several research firms have issued reports on WPM. Stifel Canada raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Wheaton Precious Metals

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 4.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 955,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,422,000 after buying an additional 36,970 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.8% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,370,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,854,000 after buying an additional 10,600 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,287,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 163,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,196,000 after purchasing an additional 26,924 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 48.1% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,501,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,683,000 after purchasing an additional 487,190 shares during the period. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

NYSE:WPM opened at $73.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.70. Wheaton Precious Metals has a 52-week low of $43.18 and a 52-week high of $74.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 55.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.77.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.27%.

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.