Groupe la Francaise Sells 25,000 Shares of Kinross Gold Corporation $KGC

Key Points

• Groupe la Francaise has reduced its shareholding in Kinross Gold Corporation by 3.3%, now holding 725,000 shares valued at approximately $9 million.
• Several analysts have issued optimistic forecasts for Kinross Gold, raising target prices and ratings, with a consensus recommendation of "Buy" and an average target price of $20.07.
• Kinross Gold recently reported earnings of $0.44 per share, exceeding estimates and showing a significant year-over-year revenue increase of 41.7% to $1.75 billion.

Groupe la Francaise lessened its stake in Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC - Free Report) TSE: K by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 725,000 shares of the mining company's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Groupe la Francaise owned approximately 0.06% of Kinross Gold worth $9,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its position in shares of Kinross Gold by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 237,612 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 18,135 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. boosted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 2,932,567 shares of the mining company's stock worth $36,976,000 after buying an additional 48,905 shares during the period. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 120,777 shares of the mining company's stock worth $1,120,000 after buying an additional 43,595 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,230,858 shares of the mining company's stock worth $20,587,000 after buying an additional 975,147 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 365.8% in the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 6,876,921 shares of the mining company's stock worth $86,718,000 after buying an additional 5,400,447 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KGC shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Kinross Gold from $28.00 to $29.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Kinross Gold to a "hold" rating and set a $15.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, June 30th. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Kinross Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.07.

Kinross Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KGC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $20.35. 6,228,621 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,579,988. The company's 50-day moving average is $16.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $24.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.55. Kinross Gold Corporation has a 1 year low of $8.31 and a 1 year high of $20.34.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC - Get Free Report) TSE: K last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 25.18% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The firm's revenue was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kinross Gold Corporation will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinross Gold Announces Dividend

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

About Kinross Gold

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.