Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $33.00 target price on shares of Kinross Gold in a report on Sunday, December 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $54.00 price target on Kinross Gold in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Desjardins started coverage on shares of Kinross Gold in a research report on Friday, November 28th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $32.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a)” rating on shares of Kinross Gold in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.56.

Kinross Gold Stock Performance

Shares of Kinross Gold stock opened at $30.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.73. Kinross Gold has a 52 week low of $11.12 and a 52 week high of $39.11.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 18th. The mining company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.12. Kinross Gold had a return on equity of 28.22% and a net margin of 33.90%.The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 42.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Kinross Gold will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Kinross Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.04 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Kinross Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Kinross Gold’s payout ratio is presently 8.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinross Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KGC. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinross Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Kinross Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in Kinross Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Kinross Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new position in Kinross Gold in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.69% of the company’s stock.

About Kinross Gold

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) is a Toronto-based precious metals mining company primarily focused on the exploration, development and production of gold, with silver recovered as a by-product at some operations. The company’s activities span the full mining lifecycle, including discovery and resource delineation, mine construction and operation, ore processing, and eventual site reclamation and closure. Kinross sells refined gold produced at its processing facilities and manages associated logistics and processing arrangements to deliver metal to market.

Kinross operates a portfolio of producing mines and development projects across multiple regions, with a significant presence in the Americas and West Africa.