Short Interest in Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) Expands By 15.5%

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,850,000 shares, an increase of 15.5% from the February 29th total of 10,260,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gold Fields

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFI. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Gold Fields by 136.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 221,921 shares of the company's stock worth $3,209,000 after purchasing an additional 128,262 shares in the last quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gold Fields during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,897,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Gold Fields in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,046,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Gold Fields in the third quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Finally, CI Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 521,536 shares of the company's stock worth $5,664,000 after acquiring an additional 61,931 shares in the last quarter. 26.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GFI shares. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Gold Fields from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gold Fields from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Gold Fields from a "market perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gold Fields currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.67.

Gold Fields Stock Performance

Shares of GFI traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $16.16. 5,507,961 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,432,160. Gold Fields has a 12 month low of $10.31 and a 12 month high of $17.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $14.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.78.

Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.10. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gold Fields will post 1.15 EPS for the current year.

Gold Fields Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.1717 per share. This is a boost from Gold Fields's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 2.5%.

Gold Fields Company Profile

Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, West Africa, Australia, and Peru. The company also explores for copper deposits. It holds interests in nine operating mines, as well as gold mineral reserves and mineral resources. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.

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