Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest surged 34.0% in April to 5,252,822 shares (about 1.0% of the stock) with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.0, signaling increased bearish positioning.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.3124 per share (record April 24, paid May 5), which the article reports as a 372.0% dividend yield.
• Shares opened at $15.63 (down ~5%), trading below the 50- and 200-day averages, while analysts have an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a $16.00 price target, with recent upgrades including Morgan Stanley's "overweight."

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,252,822 shares, a growth of 34.0% from the March 31st total of 3,918,689 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 5,299,868 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold.

Harmony Gold Mining Trading Down 5.0%

Shares of Harmony Gold Mining stock opened at $15.63 on Wednesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $17.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.95. Harmony Gold Mining has a fifty-two week low of $12.58 and a fifty-two week high of $26.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.54.

Harmony Gold Mining Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.3124 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 372.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmony Gold Mining

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Harmony Gold Mining during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harmony Gold Mining during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Harmony Gold Mining during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new position in Harmony Gold Mining during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Harmony Gold Mining by 907.5% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,753 shares of the mining company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares during the period. 31.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HMY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Harmony Gold Mining in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Harmony Gold Mining from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Harmony Gold Mining to an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Harmony Gold Mining has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $16.00.

Harmony Gold Mining Company Profile

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited is a South Africa–based precious metals producer primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of gold. The company operates a portfolio of underground and surface mining operations, targeting both reef-hosted and alluvial deposits. In addition to gold, Harmony’s activities encompass the extraction of copper as a byproduct at its Papua New Guinea operations.

In South Africa, Harmony’s mining footprint includes deep-level underground operations in the Witwatersrand Basin, where it employs a combination of conventional and mechanized mining methods.

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