Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK)

Teck Resources Limited (NYSE:TECK) (TSE:TECK) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors bought 12,112 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 90% compared to the typical daily volume of 6,362 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TECK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Teck Resources to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Teck Resources from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Teck Resources from $55.00 to $51.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. UBS Group downgraded shares of Teck Resources from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Teck Resources from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $64.71.

Teck Resources Price Performance

NYSE TECK opened at $43.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 2.92. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $43.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.64. Teck Resources has a 52-week low of $36.50 and a 52-week high of $55.13. The company has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 65.43 and a beta of 1.05.

Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK) (TSE:TECK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.24. Teck Resources had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 6.37%. The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Teck Resources will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Teck Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.0895 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Teck Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.03%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Teck Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Teck Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Teck Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Teck Resources during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Teck Resources by 77.4% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 878 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its position in Teck Resources by 69.7% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 996 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.06% of the company’s stock.

Teck Resources Company Profile

Teck Resources Limited engages in exploring for, acquiring, developing, and producing natural resources in Asia, Europe, and North America. The company operates through Steelmaking Coal, Copper, Zinc, and Energy segments. Its principal products include copper, zinc, steelmaking coal, and blended bitumen.