Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Iamgold Corporation (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.05 and last traded at $17.9820, with a volume of 733420 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $17.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on IAG. Zacks Research raised Iamgold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Iamgold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Iamgold in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Iamgold from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Iamgold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $15.25.

Iamgold Stock Down 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.77. The firm has a market cap of $10.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 1.38.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The mining company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $714.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.45 million. Iamgold had a net margin of 15.39% and a return on equity of 10.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Iamgold Corporation will post 0.67 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iamgold

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Iamgold by 35.7% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 51,992,067 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $672,253,000 after acquiring an additional 13,691,148 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Iamgold by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,767,691 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $294,151,000 after purchasing an additional 778,680 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Iamgold by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 20,917,319 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $154,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302,527 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Iamgold by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 11,194,505 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $144,745,000 after buying an additional 1,581,064 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Iamgold by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 11,181,693 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $144,430,000 after buying an additional 3,567,399 shares in the last quarter. 47.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Iamgold Company Profile

IAMGOLD Corporation, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Toronto, is a mid-tier gold producer engaged in the exploration, development and operation of gold mining assets. The company’s primary focus is on the discovery and extraction of gold, with a portfolio that spans both operating mines and advanced development projects. IAMGOLD combines in-house technical expertise with strategic partnerships to advance projects from exploration through to production.

The company’s principal producing assets include the Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso, which began commercial production in 2010, and the Westwood underground gold mine in Quebec’s Abitibi region.