Investors Buy High Volume of Kinross Gold Call Options (NYSE:KGC)

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors bought 16,451 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 19% compared to the typical volume of 13,814 call options.

Kinross Gold Stock Performance

KGC stock opened at $35.31 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.81. Kinross Gold has a 12 month low of $10.28 and a 12 month high of $37.60. The company has a market capitalization of $42.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The mining company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 27.30% and a return on equity of 22.25%. Kinross Gold’s quarterly revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kinross Gold will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinross Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th were issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 26th. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from Kinross Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. Kinross Gold’s payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinross Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Kinross Gold during the second quarter valued at approximately $389,025,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Kinross Gold by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 107,960,623 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,682,791,000 after buying an additional 7,825,336 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its position in Kinross Gold by 47.8% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 16,739,969 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $261,646,000 after acquiring an additional 5,411,491 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 81.2% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 8,073,665 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $126,191,000 after acquiring an additional 3,617,320 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Kinross Gold by 127.2% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 6,107,913 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $95,509,000 after purchasing an additional 3,419,440 shares during the last quarter. 63.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on KGC shares. Desjardins initiated coverage on shares of Kinross Gold in a research note on Friday, November 28th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Kinross Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on Kinross Gold from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Cormark cut Kinross Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Kinross Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kinross Gold presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.56.

Kinross Gold Company Profile

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) is a Toronto-based precious metals mining company primarily focused on the exploration, development and production of gold, with silver recovered as a by-product at some operations. The company’s activities span the full mining lifecycle, including discovery and resource delineation, mine construction and operation, ore processing, and eventual site reclamation and closure. Kinross sells refined gold produced at its processing facilities and manages associated logistics and processing arrangements to deliver metal to market.

Kinross operates a portfolio of producing mines and development projects across multiple regions, with a significant presence in the Americas and West Africa.