Teck Resources Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:TECK)

Teck Resources Limited (NYSE:TECK) (TSE:TECK) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 11,967 call options on the company. This is an increase of 83% compared to the average daily volume of 6,549 call options.

Teck Resources Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE TECK traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.69. 616,712 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,380,709. The company has a current ratio of 2.92, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.60. Teck Resources has a twelve month low of $35.25 and a twelve month high of $55.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 71.26 and a beta of 1.04.

Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK) (TSE:TECK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.24. Teck Resources had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 6.37%. The company had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Teck Resources will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Teck Resources Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.0895 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Teck Resources’s payout ratio is 56.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TECK has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Teck Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group cut shares of Teck Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Teck Resources in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Teck Resources from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Paradigm Capital upgraded shares of Teck Resources to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Teck Resources

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Teck Resources during the first quarter worth $119,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Teck Resources by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,721,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $765,493,000 after buying an additional 290,034 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Teck Resources by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Teck Resources by 91.2% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Teck Resources by 27.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,614,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $73,966,000 after acquiring an additional 343,626 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.06% of the company’s stock.

About Teck Resources

Teck Resources Limited engages in exploring for, acquiring, developing, and producing natural resources in Asia, Europe, and North America. The company operates through Steelmaking Coal, Copper, Zinc, and Energy segments. Its principal products include copper, zinc, steelmaking coal, and blended bitumen.