Short Interest in Franco-Nevada Co. (NYSE:FNV) Grows By 36.6%

Franco-Nevada Co. (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,800,000 shares, an increase of 36.6% from the February 28th total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 730,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Franco-Nevada

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FNV. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franco-Nevada during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Franco-Nevada in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Franco-Nevada during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Franco-Nevada in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in Franco-Nevada by 25.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 453 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FNV has been the subject of several research reports. TD Securities cut shares of Franco-Nevada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $152.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. HC Wainwright lifted their target price on shares of Franco-Nevada from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Franco-Nevada from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Franco-Nevada from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Franco-Nevada from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Franco-Nevada has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.50.

Franco-Nevada Stock Performance

NYSE:FNV opened at $157.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.84, a PEG ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.73. Franco-Nevada has a fifty-two week low of $112.70 and a fifty-two week high of $159.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.06.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 10th. The basic materials company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.05. Franco-Nevada had a negative net margin of 55.28% and a positive return on equity of 10.55%. The business had revenue of $321.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $304.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. Franco-Nevada’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Franco-Nevada will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from Franco-Nevada’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Franco-Nevada’s payout ratio is currently 53.15%.

Franco-Nevada Company Profile

Franco-Nevada Corporation operates as a gold-focused royalty and streaming company in South America, Central America, Mexico, the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Mining and Energy segments. The company manages its portfolio with a focus on precious metals, such as gold, silver, and platinum group metals; and engages in the sale of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids through a third-party marketing agent.