Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) Short Interest Up 24.6% in August

Key Points

• Gold Fields Limited experienced a 24.6% increase in short interest in August, totaling 5,830,000 shares as of August 31st, indicating a growing bearish sentiment towards the stock.
• The company announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.3993 per share, increasing from the previous dividend of $0.38, reflecting a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• Several analysts have recently raised their price targets for Gold Fields, with BMO Capital Markets setting a new target at $32.00, signaling optimism regarding the stock's performance.

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,830,000 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the August 15th total of 4,680,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,040,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GFI shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gold Fields from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 1st. Capital One Financial set a $32.00 target price on Gold Fields in a report on Friday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Gold Fields from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Gold Fields in a report on Monday, July 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $33.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gold Fields presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.63.

Gold Fields Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GFI traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $42.24. The company had a trading volume of 4,503,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,547,115. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.89. Gold Fields has a one year low of $12.98 and a one year high of $42.30. The firm has a market cap of $37.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.47. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $31.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.68.

Gold Fields Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th will be given a $0.3993 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 12th. This is an increase from Gold Fields's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.38. This represents a dividend yield of 130.0%. Gold Fields's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.23%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its position in Gold Fields by 1.8% in the second quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 20,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $516,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Gold Fields by 31.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,007 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Gold Fields by 6.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 9,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Gold Fields by 34.2% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Gold Fields by 21.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.81% of the company's stock.

About Gold Fields

Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, Australia, and Peru. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.