Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI) (TSE:AGI) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,940,000 shares, a growth of 23.0% from the November 30th total of 2,390,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Alamos Gold Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of AGI traded up $0.40 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $18.47. 1,040,287 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,357,800. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Alamos Gold has a 52 week low of $11.24 and a 52 week high of $21.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $19.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.57.

Alamos Gold (NYSE:AGI) (TSE:AGI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $360.90 million during the quarter. Alamos Gold had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 19.89%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alamos Gold will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Alamos Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were issued a $0.025 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 5th. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Alamos Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Alamos Gold from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Alamos Gold from $23.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com lowered Alamos Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Alamos Gold from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $25.06.

Institutional Trading of Alamos Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AGI. Old West Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alamos Gold by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Old West Investment Management LLC now owns 485,892 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,689,000 after acquiring an additional 48,128 shares during the period. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co purchased a new position in shares of Alamos Gold in the third quarter worth about $1,196,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Alamos Gold by 147.6% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,585,450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $119,003,000 after buying an additional 4,521,282 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Alamos Gold in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $793,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Alamos Gold by 18.4% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,529,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,492,000 after acquiring an additional 237,278 shares during the period. 64.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Alamos Gold

Alamos Gold Inc engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and extraction of precious metals in Canada and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. It holds 100% interest in the Young-Davidson mine and Island Gold mine located in the Ontario, Canada; Mulatos mine located in the Sonora, Mexico; and Lynn Lake project situated in the Manitoba, Canada.