Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Novagold Resources Inc. $NG

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group dramatically increased its Novagold Resources stake in the first quarter, buying over 5.7 million additional shares and lifting its holding to about 1.30% of the company, valued at roughly $51.4 million.
• Novagold continues to attract institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 57.56% of the stock overall, while several firms recently added or expanded positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive despite a recent share dip to $5.18; the stock has a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $13.22.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG - Free Report) TSE: NG by 32,405.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,722,006 shares of the mining company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,704,403 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.30% of Novagold Resources worth $51,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novagold Resources in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Novagold Resources in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novagold Resources during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Novagold Resources during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Novagold Resources by 307.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,300 shares of the mining company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NG. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Novagold Resources from $13.80 to $13.60 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Novagold Resources from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Novagold Resources to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on shares of Novagold Resources in a research note on Friday, March 27th. They set a "speculative buy" rating and a $13.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $13.22.

Novagold Resources Trading Down 2.8%

NYSEAMERICAN:NG opened at $5.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -30.47 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 112.82 and a current ratio of 112.82. Novagold Resources Inc. has a 1 year low of $5.07 and a 1 year high of $14.40. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.27 and a 200-day moving average of $9.01.

Novagold Resources Profile

Novagold Resources Inc is a mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The firm is focused on advancing large-scale precious metals projects through disciplined project management, environmental stewardship and community engagement. Novagold maintains a lean corporate structure while leveraging partnerships and industry expertise to advance its projects toward production.

The company's flagship asset is the Donlin Gold project in Alaska, a 50/50 joint venture with Barrick Gold Corporation.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG - Free Report) TSE: NG.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.