Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 789,070 Shares of Franco-Nevada Co. (NYSE:FNV)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada Co. (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,778,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 789,070 shares during the period. Franco-Nevada accounts for 1.8% of Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 4.57% of Franco-Nevada worth $972,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Franco-Nevada by 77.8% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 786 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Franco-Nevada by 1.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 115,194 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,377,000 after buying an additional 1,611 shares in the last quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Franco-Nevada in the third quarter valued at about $572,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Franco-Nevada by 209.0% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Franco-Nevada by 0.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 207,628 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,716,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Franco-Nevada Trading Up 0.4 %

Franco-Nevada stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $123.42. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 662,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,205. The stock has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a PE ratio of -50.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.27 and a beta of 0.71. Franco-Nevada Co. has a 52 week low of $102.29 and a 52 week high of $161.25. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $115.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $115.51.

Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $303.30 million for the quarter. Franco-Nevada had a negative net margin of 38.26% and a positive return on equity of 10.61%. As a group, research analysts predict that Franco-Nevada Co. will post 2.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. This is a boost from Franco-Nevada’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. Franco-Nevada’s dividend payout ratio is presently -55.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Franco-Nevada from $138.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Franco-Nevada from $117.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Franco-Nevada from $139.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet lowered Franco-Nevada from a “c+” rating to a “d+” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Franco-Nevada from $138.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Franco-Nevada currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.60.

Franco-Nevada 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.