Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (NYSEAMERICAN:CMCL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (NYSEAMERICAN:CMCL - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 259,600 shares, a decline of 31.5% from the May 15th total of 379,100 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 130,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Institutional Trading of Caledonia Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Caledonia Mining by 2,778.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,397 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 3,279 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Caledonia Mining in the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Caledonia Mining by 56.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,005 shares of the company's stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,160 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Caledonia Mining by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,651 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Caledonia Mining during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Maxim Group set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Caledonia Mining and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

Caledonia Mining Stock Down 4.9%

Shares of NYSEAMERICAN:CMCL traded down $0.95 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $18.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 172,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,451. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $15.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.65. Caledonia Mining has a 52 week low of $8.81 and a 52 week high of $20.08. The company has a market capitalization of $357.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Caledonia Mining Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 23rd. Caledonia Mining's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.67%.

About Caledonia Mining

Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc primarily operates a gold mine. It also engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties for precious metals. The company holds a 64% interest in the Blanket Mine, a gold mine located in Zimbabwe. It also owns 100% interests in the Maligreen project, a brownfield gold exploration project located in the Gweru mining district in the Zimbabwe Midlands; the Bilboes, a gold deposit located to the north of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; and the Motapa, a gold exploration property located in Southern Zimbabwe.