Newmont (NYSE:NEM) Cut to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Newmont from “strong-buy” to “buy”, even as the broader analyst view remains constructive. The stock still carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $141.53.
• Newmont reported a strong quarterly beat, posting $2.90 EPS versus expectations of $2.07 and revenue of $7.31 billion versus $6.83 billion expected. Revenue jumped 45.8% year over year.
• The stock was up 1.3% and traded around $109.60, with a market cap of about $117.01 billion. Insider selling was noted, including sales by EVP Peter Wexler and insider David James Fry.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

NEM has been the subject of a number of other reports. National Bank Financial increased their price target on Newmont from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Newmont from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Newmont from $118.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $129.00 price target on shares of Newmont in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Newmont from $120.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.53.

Newmont Trading Up 1.3%

Newmont stock opened at $109.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $110.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 2.17 and a current ratio of 2.44. Newmont has a one year low of $51.80 and a one year high of $134.88. The stock has a market cap of $117.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 0.43.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.83. Newmont had a return on equity of 27.84% and a net margin of 33.87%.The company had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 45.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Newmont will post 9.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Peter Wexler sold 13,378 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.11, for a total transaction of $1,473,051.58. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,865 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,472,615.15. This trade represents a 16.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider David James Fry sold 18,394 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.45, for a total value of $2,050,011.30. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 17,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,911,033.15. This trade represents a 51.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 43,068 shares of company stock valued at $4,769,475 in the last three months. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Newmont

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Newmont by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 134,107,293 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,390,613,000 after purchasing an additional 637,996 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Newmont by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 49,959,850 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,988,491,000 after purchasing an additional 480,223 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Newmont by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,780,063 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,973,539,000 after purchasing an additional 5,643,496 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Newmont by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,011,084 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,738,756,000 after purchasing an additional 946,824 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Newmont in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,443,128,000. 68.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Newmont Company Profile

Newmont Corporation NYSE: NEM is a leading global gold mining company engaged in the exploration, development, processing and reclamation of gold properties. The company's core business centers on the production of gold, with additional byproduct metals produced from its operations. Newmont operates a portfolio of long‑lived mines and development projects, and its activities span the full mine life cycle from early-stage exploration through to mining, milling and closure.

Founded in 1921 and headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado, Newmont has grown through organic development and strategic acquisitions.

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