Traders Purchase Large Volume of Newmont Call Options (NYSE:NEM)

Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 58,700 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 17% compared to the typical volume of 50,342 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NEM shares. National Bank Financial reaffirmed an "outperform overweight" rating on shares of Newmont in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Newmont from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Argus downgraded Newmont from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Newmont in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Newmont from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $50.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newmont

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Newmont by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,749,923 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,915,059,000 after buying an additional 36,170,995 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Newmont by 57.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 51,290,469 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,122,913,000 after buying an additional 18,664,614 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Newmont in the fourth quarter worth about $604,516,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Newmont by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,639,109 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,019,813,000 after buying an additional 7,635,657 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Newmont by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 23,224,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $832,354,000 after purchasing an additional 6,617,145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.85% of the company's stock.

Newmont Price Performance

NYSE:NEM traded up $4.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $43.41. 36,079,861 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,785,023. The firm has a market cap of $50.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.50. Newmont has a 52 week low of $29.42 and a 52 week high of $50.18. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $35.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. Newmont had a positive return on equity of 6.21% and a negative net margin of 20.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Newmont will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. Newmont's payout ratio is -42.02%.

Newmont Company Profile

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.