Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,100,000 shares, a growth of 19.3% from the April 30th total of 18,530,000 shares. Approximately 2.0% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 13,310,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Activity at Newmont

In other Newmont news, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $162,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 77,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,193,381.34. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,077 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total value of $112,344.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,180 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,443,786.20. The trade was a 4.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,154 shares of company stock worth $381,539 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.05% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Newmont

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Newmont by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 49,747,598 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,851,606,000 after acquiring an additional 797,445 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Newmont by 5.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,213,397 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Newmont during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $626,074,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Newmont by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,014,066 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $773,159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Newmont by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 12,934,095 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $624,458,000 after buying an additional 191,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Newmont from $52.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities lowered their target price on Newmont from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Cfra Research raised shares of Newmont to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group raised Newmont from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Newmont in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.68.

Newmont Trading Down 3.2%

Shares of NEM traded down $1.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.74. 7,449,659 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,209,890. The business's 50-day moving average price is $52.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.91. Newmont has a 1 year low of $36.86 and a 1 year high of $58.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The basic materials company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.54. Newmont had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Newmont will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Newmont's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.42%.

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.