Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Newmont (NYSE:NEM)

Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders purchased 67,628 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 91% compared to the typical volume of 35,433 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Newmont

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Estate Counselors LLC bought a new position in Newmont during the third quarter valued at about $4,182,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Newmont by 124.8% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 330,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,843,000 after purchasing an additional 183,360 shares during the period. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Newmont by 286.5% in the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 60,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,101,000 after purchasing an additional 44,846 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Newmont by 176.4% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 447,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,098,000 after purchasing an additional 285,897 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Newmont by 172.2% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,304,215 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $362,888,000 after buying an additional 2,723,044 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

Newmont Stock Performance

Shares of Newmont stock traded down $0.87 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $129.13. 6,917,291 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,946,501. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The business has a 50-day moving average of $115.77 and a 200-day moving average of $95.34. Newmont has a 1 year low of $41.93 and a 1 year high of $134.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.40.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The basic materials company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $6.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.18 billion. Newmont had a net margin of 31.25% and a return on equity of 23.28%. Newmont’s revenue was up 20.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Newmont will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from Newmont’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio is currently 16.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Newmont from $114.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Newmont in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Newmont from $136.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Newmont in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Newmont from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.73.

About Newmont

Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM) is a leading global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, processing and reclamation of gold properties. The company’s core business centers on the production of gold, with additional byproduct metals produced from its operations. Newmont operates a portfolio of long?lived mines and development projects, and its activities span the full mine life cycle from early-stage exploration through to mining, milling and closure.

Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, Newmont has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.