Equinox Gold (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) Trading Down 5.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Equinox Gold shares fell about 5.8% to $14.50 midday (low $14.57) on Tuesday, with roughly 2.7 million shares traded — a 73% drop from its average daily volume.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Buy rating with a $17.00 target, driven by recent upgrades to "Strong Buy" from Zacks and CIBC and "Outperform" reissues from BMO and Scotiabank.
• The company has a market cap of $11.37 billion, a PE of 59.94 and low leverage (debt/equity 0.24); it pays a small quarterly dividend ($0.015, ~0.4% yield) and about 38.85% of shares are held by hedge funds and institutions.

Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX - Get Free Report) was down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $14.57 and last traded at $14.5010. Approximately 2,704,974 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 10,126,173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.39.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EQX shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research raised Equinox Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised Equinox Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Equinox Gold currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.00.

Equinox Gold Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a PE ratio of 59.94 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.09.

Equinox Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. Equinox Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Equinox Gold

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Equinox Gold by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 96,024,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,077,394,000 after purchasing an additional 45,820,861 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Equinox Gold by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,714,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $431,665,000 after purchasing an additional 3,250,135 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in Equinox Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $332,888,000. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. increased its stake in Equinox Gold by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 20,234,048 shares of the company's stock valued at $284,152,000 after purchasing an additional 3,589,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, L1 Capital Pty Ltd increased its stake in Equinox Gold by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd now owns 20,164,556 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,768,141 shares in the last quarter. 38.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Equinox Gold

Equinox Gold Corp is a Canadian gold mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and operation of gold properties, with an emphasis on open-pit heap leach mining. Since its inception, Equinox Gold has pursued a strategy of combining assets in established jurisdictions to build a diversified portfolio that balances production and growth, while maintaining rigorous safety and environmental standards.

Equinox Gold's operating portfolio spans three countries.

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