Ero Copper Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ERO)

Key Points

• Ero Copper saw unusually heavy options activity on Monday, with traders purchasing 25,264 call options—656% above the average daily volume of 3,344.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 71.3%, with major investors including FIL Ltd., Hillsdale Investment Management, Vanguard and Bank of America increasing their positions.
• The stock rose to $35.78 and recently outperformed earnings expectations, reporting quarterly EPS of $0.83 versus the $0.74 consensus. Analysts hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus, though the average price target of $32.33 is below the current share price.

Ero Copper Corp. (NYSE:ERO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Monday. Traders purchased 25,264 call options on the company. This is an increase of 656% compared to the average daily volume of 3,344 call options.

Institutional Trading of Ero Copper

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ERO. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Ero Copper by 74.1% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 11,670,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $330,161,000 after buying an additional 4,966,427 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ero Copper by 602.9% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,685,445 shares of the company's stock worth $47,767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,445,645 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ero Copper by 1,614.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,434,428 shares of the company's stock worth $29,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,350,738 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Ero Copper by 4,913.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 974,932 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000,000 after acquiring an additional 955,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Ero Copper by 82.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,775,632 shares of the company's stock worth $29,919,000 after acquiring an additional 803,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.30% of the company's stock.

Ero Copper Price Performance

Shares of Ero Copper stock traded up $1.48 on Monday, hitting $35.78. The company had a trading volume of 2,156,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,604. Ero Copper has a 52 week low of $13.37 and a 52 week high of $39.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.66.

Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $284.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $277.64 million. Ero Copper had a return on equity of 30.32% and a net margin of 29.79%. Research analysts expect that Ero Copper will post 4.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ERO shares. Bank of America raised Ero Copper from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $30.00 to $34.00 in a report on Thursday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ero Copper from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ero Copper in a research report on Monday, June 15th. National Bank Financial raised Ero Copper from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Bradesco Corretora raised Ero Copper to an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.33.

About Ero Copper

Ero Copper Corp NYSE: ERO is a Canada-based natural resource company focused on the production of copper concentrate from its Brazilian operations. The company’s flagship asset is the Vale do Curaçá mining complex in the state of Bahia, which includes multiple underground mines and a centralized processing facility. Ero Copper’s primary product is copper concentrate, which is sold to smelters and end users around the world.

The Vale do Curaçá complex comprises the Pilar and Surubim underground mines, supported by a fully integrated processing plant.

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