Gold Fields Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:GFI)

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders purchased 6,817 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 77% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,853 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gold Fields

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Gold Fields by 136.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 221,921 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,209,000 after purchasing an additional 128,262 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Gold Fields in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,046,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new position in shares of Gold Fields in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,897,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Gold Fields in the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 36.3% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 19,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 26.02% of the company’s stock.

Gold Fields Stock Down 0.1 %

Gold Fields stock traded down $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.75. 2,438,959 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,612,377. Gold Fields has a fifty-two week low of $10.31 and a fifty-two week high of $18.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.25. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.23.

Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.10. As a group, analysts predict that Gold Fields will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gold Fields Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.1717 per share. This represents a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gold Fields’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on GFI. UBS Group downgraded Gold Fields from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Gold Fields from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised Gold Fields from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded Gold Fields from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $14.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.67.

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.