Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Newmont Call Options (NYSE:NEM)

Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 58,700 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 17% compared to the average volume of 50,342 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NEM shares. Argus downgraded shares of Newmont from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Newmont in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Newmont from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Newmont from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Newmont from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.75.

Newmont Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE NEM opened at $42.73 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.95. Newmont has a one year low of $29.42 and a one year high of $50.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. Newmont had a positive return on equity of 6.88% and a negative net margin of 20.19%. Newmont’s revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Newmont will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

Newmont Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -37.45%.

Institutional Trading of Newmont

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NEM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Newmont by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,749,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,915,059,000 after buying an additional 36,170,995 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Newmont by 57.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 51,290,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,122,913,000 after buying an additional 18,664,614 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Newmont by 44.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,639,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,019,813,000 after buying an additional 7,635,657 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Newmont by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 23,756,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $983,267,000 after purchasing an additional 5,475,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Newmont by 39.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,224,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $832,354,000 after purchasing an additional 6,617,145 shares during the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Newmont Company Profile

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.