Equinox Gold Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX)

Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 15,592 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 63% compared to the typical volume of 9,574 call options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Equinox Gold by 232.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 558,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,843,000 after purchasing an additional 390,690 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in Equinox Gold in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,883,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Equinox Gold by 35.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,862,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,812,000 after acquiring an additional 490,251 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Equinox Gold by 164.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 780,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,367,000 after acquiring an additional 485,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Equinox Gold in the second quarter worth $573,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on EQX. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Equinox Gold in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Equinox Gold from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Equinox Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Equinox Gold Stock Up 1.6%

Equinox Gold stock opened at $18.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.50 billion, a PE ratio of 76.67 and a beta of 1.24. Equinox Gold has a 12-month low of $5.59 and a 12-month high of $18.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $15.29 and its 200 day moving average is $12.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Equinox Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be given a dividend of $0.015 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%.

Equinox Gold Company Profile

Equinox Gold Corp is a Canadian gold mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and operation of gold properties, with an emphasis on open-pit heap leach mining. Since its inception, Equinox Gold has pursued a strategy of combining assets in established jurisdictions to build a diversified portfolio that balances production and growth, while maintaining rigorous safety and environmental standards.

Equinox Gold’s operating portfolio spans three countries.