Short Interest in Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) Expands By 21.6%

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 10,190,000 shares, an increase of 21.6% from the September 15th total of 8,380,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Gold Fields Price Performance

GFI stock opened at $15.69 on Wednesday. Gold Fields has a 12 month low of $12.19 and a 12 month high of $18.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.80.

Gold Fields Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.1692 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gold Fields

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GFI. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 17.0% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 2,779 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Gold Fields by 107.7% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 61,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 32,070 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Gold Fields by 15.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 54,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 7,155 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Gold Fields by 28.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,609,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,878,000 after acquiring an additional 581,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 8.0% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 49,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 3,673 shares during the period. 26.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GFI shares. StockNews.com upgraded Gold Fields from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Gold Fields from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $13.50 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Gold Fields from $17.50 to $16.70 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Gold Fields from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Gold Fields in a research note on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.93.

Gold Fields Company Profile

Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, Australia, and Peru. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.