Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) Stock Holdings Lessened by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in Kinross Gold by 2.0%, now owning approximately 8.19 million shares valued at $103.23 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Kinross Gold, with Jupiter Asset Management leading with a 166.2% increase during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts maintain a generally positive outlook for Kinross Gold, with an average rating of "Buy" and a price target of $18.20.

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC - Free Report) TSE: K by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,192,497 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 167,861 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.67% of Kinross Gold worth $103,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Kinross Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $114,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 81.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 383,758 shares of the mining company's stock worth $3,557,000 after purchasing an additional 172,266 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Kinross Gold by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 653,195 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $6,063,000 after purchasing an additional 56,260 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Kinross Gold by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 31,789 shares of the mining company's stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 16,418 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Kinross Gold by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,096,731 shares of the mining company's stock worth $10,173,000 after buying an additional 15,774 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on KGC shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kinross Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Kinross Gold in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Kinross Gold in a report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised Kinross Gold to a "hold" rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kinross Gold has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.50.

Kinross Gold Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of KGC stock traded up $0.57 on Wednesday, hitting $18.73. The stock had a trading volume of 22,996,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,068,963. The stock's 50 day moving average is $15.62 and its 200-day moving average is $13.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.55. Kinross Gold Corporation has a 52-week low of $8.08 and a 52-week high of $18.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.84.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC - Get Free Report) TSE: K last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.11. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 25.18% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 41.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Kinross Gold Corporation will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinross Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Kinross Gold's payout ratio is currently 9.68%.

Kinross Gold Company Profile

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. The company operates the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project in Alaska, as well as the Round Mountain and the Bald Mountain mines in Nevada, the United States; the Paracatu mine in Brazil; the La Coipa and the Lobo-Marte project in Chile; the Tasiast mine in Mauritania; and the Great Bear project in Canada.