Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) Hits New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Kinross Gold shares hit a new 52-week high at $18.74, with a significant trading volume of nearly 23 million shares.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Kinross Gold's rating, with Jefferies Financial Group and UBS Group setting price targets of $18.00 and $20.00, respectively.
• The company reported impressive quarterly earnings of $0.44 EPS, exceeding estimates, and announced a dividend of $0.03 per share, representing a 0.6% yield.

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC - Get Free Report) TSE: K's share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $18.74 and last traded at $18.73, with a volume of 22996994 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $18.16.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Kinross Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $14.00 to $18.00 in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Kinross Gold to a "hold" rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Kinross Gold in a report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.50.

Kinross Gold Trading Up 3.1%

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $15.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $22.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.55.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC - Get Free Report) TSE: K last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The mining company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.14 EPS. The company's revenue was up 41.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Kinross Gold Corporation will post 0.81 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Kinross Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.68%.

Institutional Trading of Kinross Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KGC. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Kinross Gold by 36.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 47,526,913 shares of the mining company's stock worth $632,797,000 after buying an additional 12,705,061 shares during the period. Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 174.2% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 9,243,267 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $85,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,871,904 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 365.8% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 6,876,921 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $86,718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,400,447 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 127.2% in the second quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 6,107,913 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $95,509,000 after purchasing an additional 3,419,440 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 95.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,949,976 shares of the mining company's stock valued at $87,639,000 after buying an additional 3,398,687 shares in the last quarter. 63.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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