Lundin Gold (TSE:LUG) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Lundin Gold Inc. (TSE:LUG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday after Cormark raised their price target on the stock from C$27.00 to C$32.00. Cormark currently has a hold rating on the stock. Lundin Gold traded as high as C$32.26 and last traded at C$32.19, with a volume of 35635 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$31.57.

LUG has been the topic of several other research reports. National Bank Financial raised shares of Lundin Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Lundin Gold from C$27.50 to C$28.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. TD Securities increased their price target on Lundin Gold from C$24.00 to C$27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Lundin Gold from C$23.50 to C$25.50 in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Raymond James lowered Lundin Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$25.00 to C$29.00 in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$28.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Terrence Smith sold 25,740 shares of Lundin Gold stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$29.52, for a total value of C$759,826.78. In other news, Senior Officer Sheila Margaret Colman sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$28.74, for a total value of C$459,913.60. Also, Senior Officer Terrence Smith sold 25,740 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.52, for a total transaction of C$759,826.78. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,840 shares of company stock valued at $2,146,122. 58.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lundin Gold Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 14.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is C$27.60 and its 200 day moving average price is C$22.77. The company has a market capitalization of C$7.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.33 and a beta of 1.23.

Lundin Gold (TSE:LUG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported C$0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.62 by C($0.07). The firm had revenue of C$412.43 million for the quarter. Lundin Gold had a return on equity of 22.88% and a net margin of 24.30%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lundin Gold Inc. will post 2.5603448 EPS for the current year.

Lundin Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 25th were paid a dividend of $0.551 per share. This is an increase from Lundin Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.75%. Lundin Gold’s payout ratio is presently 82.95%.

About Lundin Gold

Lundin Gold Inc operates as a mining company in Canada. The company holds interests in 28 metallic mineral concessions and three construction material concessions covering an area of approximately 64,454 hectares located in Southeast Ecuador. It primary holds 100% interests in the Fruta del Norte gold project that comprising seven concessions covering an area of approximately 5,566 hectares located near the city of Loja in Ecuador.