Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,510,000 shares, a decline of 15.9% from the March 31st total of 13,690,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 14,980,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Kinross Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Kinross Gold from $7.00 to $8.15 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $5.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. National Bank Financial restated an “outperform overweight” rating on shares of Kinross Gold in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, TheStreet cut Kinross Gold from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.44.

Kinross Gold Stock Performance

KGC stock opened at $6.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Kinross Gold has a 12-month low of $4.32 and a 12-month high of $6.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.28 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.15.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The mining company reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. Kinross Gold had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 9.82%. Kinross Gold’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.09 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kinross Gold will post 0.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinross Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. Kinross Gold’s payout ratio is currently 35.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CWM LLC raised its position in Kinross Gold by 353.2% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,378 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 5,750 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Kinross Gold by 2.4% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 793,972 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 18,314 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Kinross Gold by 4.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 583,889 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,673,000 after purchasing an additional 23,185 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its position in Kinross Gold by 3.7% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 84,050 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 3,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 7.1% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 57,593 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.69% of the company’s stock.

Kinross Gold Company Profile

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. The company operates the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project in Alaska, as well as the Round Mountain and the Bald Mountain mines in Nevada, the United States; the Paracatu mine in Brazil; the La Coipa and the Lobo-Marte project in Chile; the Tasiast mine in Mauritania; and the Great Bear project in Canada.