Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) Short Interest Up 15.0% in March

Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 13,690,000 shares, an increase of 15.0% from the March 15th total of 11,900,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 13,700,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.0 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Kinross Gold Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:KGC traded down $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $6.31. 19,345,379 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,111,113. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.55. Kinross Gold has a 52 week low of $4.32 and a 52 week high of $6.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 2.63, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The mining company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 8.85%. Kinross Gold’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.09 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Kinross Gold will post 0.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kinross Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Kinross Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on KGC. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Kinross Gold in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “hold” rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $7.00 to $8.15 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Kinross Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TheStreet cut Kinross Gold from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, National Bank Financial reaffirmed an “outperform overweight” rating on shares of Kinross Gold in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $6.28.

Institutional Trading of Kinross Gold

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,057 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 2,157 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 130,473 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $790,000 after buying an additional 2,204 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 19.1% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 14,258 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 3.1% in the first quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 76,554 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 2,305 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 6.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 38,262 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 2,377 shares during the period. 63.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.