Newmont (NYSE:NEM) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on NEM. National Bankshares restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Newmont in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. National Bank Financial upgraded Newmont to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group upgraded Newmont from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $50.00 to $60.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Newmont from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Newmont in a report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.52.

Newmont Price Performance

Shares of Newmont stock traded up $1.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $53.75. 10,170,581 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,122,430. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $59.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.34, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.31. The firm's fifty day moving average is $50.96 and its 200-day moving average is $45.21. Newmont has a 52 week low of $36.86 and a 52 week high of $58.72.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.82 billion. Newmont had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 17.92%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. Research analysts expect that Newmont will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Newmont

In related news, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,077 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.48, for a total transaction of $106,923.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,432,790.36. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total value of $131,130.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 86,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,782,051.46. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,154 shares of company stock worth $328,840 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Newmont

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Newmont by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,747,598 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,851,606,000 after acquiring an additional 797,445 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Newmont by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,697,779 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $919,484,000 after acquiring an additional 1,213,397 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Newmont in the fourth quarter valued at about $626,074,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Newmont by 8.9% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,014,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $773,159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Newmont by 1.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,934,095 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $624,458,000 after acquiring an additional 191,940 shares in the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Newmont

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.