Short Interest in Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) Increases By 8.2%

Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,510,000 shares, a growth of 8.2% from the January 15th total of 10,640,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 18,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kinross Gold

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 62.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 116,323,261 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,078,330,000 after buying an additional 44,610,091 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Kinross Gold by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 47,365,206 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $439,881,000 after acquiring an additional 763,248 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 32,862,230 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $304,633,000 after acquiring an additional 3,224,455 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kinross Gold in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $280,697,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 14,665,537 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $136,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398,225 shares during the last quarter. 63.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kinross Gold Stock Performance

Shares of KGC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.30. 35,344,324 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,563,582. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Kinross Gold has a 52 week low of $4.75 and a 52 week high of $12.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.86. The firm has a market cap of $13.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.24.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The mining company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03). Kinross Gold had a return on equity of 11.49% and a net margin of 15.23%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kinross Gold will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

Kinross Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 5th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. Kinross Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 19.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on KGC. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Kinross Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kinross Gold has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $11.63.

Kinross Gold Company Profile

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. The company operates the Fort Knox mine and the Manh Choh project in Alaska, as well as the Round Mountain and the Bald Mountain mines in Nevada, the United States; the Paracatu mine in Brazil; the La Coipa and the Lobo-Marte project in Chile; the Tasiast mine in Mauritania; and the Great Bear project in Canada.