Agnico Eagle Mines Limited $AEM Shares Purchased by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Agnico Eagle Mines by 26.8% in the first quarter, buying 357,200 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1,689,958 shares worth about $342.5 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 68.34% of Agnico Eagle Mines shares. Several large investors also added to or initiated positions during recent quarters.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $233.62, though some firms recently lowered their targets or downgraded the stock.

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM - Free Report) TSE: AEM by 26.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,689,958 shares of the mining company's stock after acquiring an additional 357,200 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.34% of Agnico Eagle Mines worth $342,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,367,783,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Agnico Eagle Mines by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 17,225,477 shares of the mining company's stock worth $2,920,258,000 after buying an additional 3,062,705 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Agnico Eagle Mines in the 4th quarter valued at $194,195,000. Employees Provident Fund Board acquired a new stake in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines in the fourth quarter valued at about $183,341,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co raised its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines by 16,853.0% in the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 915,462 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $15,520,000 after acquiring an additional 910,062 shares during the last quarter. 68.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Agnico Eagle Mines from $220.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Agnico Eagle Mines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Scotia dropped their target price on Agnico Eagle Mines from $280.00 to $278.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $285.00 target price on Agnico Eagle Mines in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Agnico Eagle Mines from $210.00 to $188.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $233.62.

Agnico Eagle Mines Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Agnico Eagle Mines stock opened at $136.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.41 and a 200 day moving average of $191.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 3.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.60. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited has a fifty-two week low of $117.65 and a fifty-two week high of $255.24.

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM - Get Free Report) TSE: AEM last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The mining company reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.19 by $0.21. Agnico Eagle Mines had a return on equity of 21.09% and a net margin of 39.46%.The company had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 66.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Agnico Eagle Mines Limited will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Profile

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited NYSE: AEM is a Canadian-based senior gold producer headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company is principally engaged in the exploration, development, production and reclamation of gold-bearing properties. Agnico Eagle pursues both greenfield and brownfield exploration to expand its resource base and operates a portfolio of producing mines and development projects to generate long-life gold production.

Its core business activities span the full mining lifecycle: grassroots and advanced-stage exploration, prefeasibility and feasibility studies, mine construction, underground and open-pit mining, ore processing and metal recovery, and post-mining reclamation and closure.

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