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

Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,510,000 shares, a growth of 8.2% from the January 15th total of 10,640,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 18,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Kinross Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. CIBC upped their target price on Kinross Gold from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinross Gold

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 62.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 116,323,261 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,078,330,000 after buying an additional 44,610,091 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kinross Gold in the 4th quarter worth $280,697,000. Man Group plc increased its position in shares of Kinross Gold by 174.2% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 9,243,267 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $85,685,000 after acquiring an additional 5,871,904 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 80.9% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 12,610,383 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $116,898,000 after acquiring an additional 5,639,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 634.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,942,042 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $36,971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,478 shares during the last quarter. 63.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinross Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KGC traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $11.27. 22,320,648 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,737,160. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $10.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $9.84. The company has a market cap of $13.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Kinross Gold has a 12-month low of $4.75 and a 12-month high of $12.28.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The mining company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.23 by ($0.03). Kinross Gold had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 11.49%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kinross Gold will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinross Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be issued a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 5th. Kinross Gold’s payout ratio is currently 19.67%.

About Kinross Gold

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.