Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) Receives $254.38 Average PT from Analysts

Franco-Nevada Corporation (NYSE:FNV) (TSE:FNV) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $254.3750.

A number of brokerages recently commented on FNV. Weiss Ratings raised Franco-Nevada from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $228.00 target price on shares of Franco-Nevada in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Franco-Nevada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of Franco-Nevada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Franco-Nevada from $247.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th.

Institutional Trading of Franco-Nevada

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FNV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Franco-Nevada by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,330,234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,726,741,000 after acquiring an additional 113,916 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Franco-Nevada by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 7,441,133 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,542,402,000 after purchasing an additional 842,132 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Franco-Nevada by 8.9% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,560,980 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,237,510,000 after purchasing an additional 454,175 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Franco-Nevada by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 5,123,444 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,062,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Franco-Nevada by 35.2% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,220,029 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $528,289,000 after purchasing an additional 838,853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.06% of the company’s stock.

Franco-Nevada Price Performance

Shares of FNV stock opened at $273.60 on Friday. Franco-Nevada has a 12 month low of $137.05 and a 12 month high of $275.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $236.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.87.

Franco-Nevada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Franco-Nevada’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Franco-Nevada’s payout ratio is 31.87%.

About Franco-Nevada

Franco-Nevada Corporation is a Toronto-based royalty and streaming company that specializes in securing and managing long-term interests in mining properties. The firm focuses primarily on precious metals, particularly gold, while also holding interests related to silver, copper, platinum-group metals and select base metals. Rather than operating mines directly, Franco-Nevada acquires royalty and streaming agreements that entitle it to a percentage of production or revenue from producing and developing assets in exchange for upfront or staged financing.

The company’s business model centers on providing capital to mining companies in return for a sustained share of production or metal revenue, which can reduce exposure to operating and capital cost risks typical of mine operators.