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

Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 58,700 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 17% compared to the typical daily volume of 50,342 call options.

Newmont Stock Performance

NEM stock traded up $4.50 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $43.10. 20,546,607 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,577,096. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $35.14 and its 200 day moving average is $36.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $49.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.44, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.50. Newmont has a 52-week low of $29.42 and a 52-week high of $50.18.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. Newmont had a negative net margin of 20.95% and a positive return on equity of 6.21%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 50.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Newmont will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Newmont Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 5th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -42.02%.

Institutional Trading of Newmont

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NEM. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Newmont by 2.5% during the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,989 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Newmont by 81.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 8,139 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Newmont by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 138,902 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,132,000 after purchasing an additional 44,824 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Newmont by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 470,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,370,000 after purchasing an additional 7,512 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Newmont by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 215,555 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,965,000 after purchasing an additional 8,444 shares during the period. 68.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Newmont in a report on Thursday, February 29th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $38.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Newmont from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Newmont from $57.00 to $56.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Argus cut shares of Newmont from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, National Bank Financial restated an “outperform overweight” rating on shares of Newmont in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.89.

About Newmont

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.