Investors Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO)

Ero Copper Corp. (NYSE:ERO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 4,598 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 57% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,936 call options.

Ero Copper Stock Performance

Ero Copper stock traded up $1.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.58. 514,412 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 711,757. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.27. Ero Copper has a twelve month low of $9.30 and a twelve month high of $26.87. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Ero Copper (NYSE:ERO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.09). Ero Copper had a return on equity of 17.07% and a net margin of 23.44%.The company had revenue of $177.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.30 million. Equities analysts predict that Ero Copper will post 0.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Canada cut Ero Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Ero Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, December 7th. TD Securities downgraded Ero Copper from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of Ero Copper from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ero Copper in a report on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ero Copper has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ero Copper

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Ero Copper by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 8,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,483 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Ero Copper during the third quarter worth about $111,000. Shay Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ero Copper in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Ero Copper in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Ero Copper in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.30% of the company’s stock.

Ero Copper Company Profile

Ero Copper Corp. engages in the exploration, development, and production of mining projects in Brazil. The company is involved in the production and sale of copper concentrate from the Caraíba operations located in the Curaçá Valley, northeastern Bahia state, Brazil, as well as gold and silver by-products.