Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) Short Interest Up 7.1% in December

Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,980,000 shares, an increase of 7.1% from the December 15th total of 7,450,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 16,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on KGC. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $9.00 to $10.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kinross Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.13.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinross Gold

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 634.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,942,042 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $36,971,000 after buying an additional 3,405,478 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 8,567,435 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $80,191,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871,939 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,758,027 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $72,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,777,076 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Kinross Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,193,000. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Kinross Gold by 115.7% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,078,490 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $19,455,000 after buying an additional 1,114,801 shares during the period. 63.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kinross Gold Stock Performance

Shares of KGC stock traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $10.31. 21,213,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,752,992. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $9.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $9.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.21. Kinross Gold has a 12-month low of $4.75 and a 12-month high of $10.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.61.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The mining company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 15.23% and a return on equity of 11.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.12 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Kinross Gold will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

Kinross Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Kinross Gold’s payout ratio is currently 19.67%.

Kinross Gold Company Profile

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.