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

Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 58,700 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 17% compared to the typical daily volume of 50,342 call options.

Newmont Price Performance

Shares of Newmont stock opened at $43.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.92. Newmont has a 52-week low of $29.42 and a 52-week high of $50.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.23. Newmont had a negative net margin of 20.95% and a positive return on equity of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Newmont’s quarterly revenue was up 50.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Newmont will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NEM shares. TD Securities cut their price objective on Newmont from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Newmont in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Newmont from $50.00 to $43.50 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut Newmont from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, National Bank Financial reissued an “outperform overweight” rating on shares of Newmont in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Newmont by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 118,749,923 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,915,059,000 after purchasing an additional 36,170,995 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Newmont by 57.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 51,290,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,122,913,000 after buying an additional 18,664,614 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Newmont by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 24,639,109 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,019,813,000 after buying an additional 7,635,657 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Newmont by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 23,756,158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $983,267,000 after acquiring an additional 5,475,155 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position 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 worth $832,354,000 after acquiring an additional 6,617,145 shares during the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.