Short Interest in Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) Increases By 22.5%

Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,890,000 shares, a growth of 22.5% from the February 28th total of 9,710,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 21,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.6 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinross Gold

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KGC. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Kinross Gold by 109.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,704 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412 shares during the period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Kinross Gold by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 4,302 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Kinross Gold in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 747.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,429 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 4,788 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Kinross Gold by 246.3% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,227 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 5,140 shares in the last quarter. 63.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kinross Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KGC traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $12.70. 2,046,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,473,169. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $11.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 2.01. Kinross Gold has a 12 month low of $6.16 and a 12 month high of $12.90. The firm has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.29.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The mining company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03). Kinross Gold had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 12.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kinross Gold will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kinross Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. Kinross Gold’s payout ratio is currently 15.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Canada upgraded Kinross Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Kinross Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. National Bank Financial raised shares of Kinross Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on shares of Kinross Gold from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.63.

About Kinross Gold

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. The company operates the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project in Alaska, as well as the Round Mountain and the Bald Mountain mines in Nevada, the United States; the Paracatu mine in Brazil; the La Coipa and the Lobo-Marte project in Chile; the Tasiast mine in Mauritania; and the Great Bear project in Canada.