Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) Trading Down 5.3% – Time to Sell?

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) shares dropped 5.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $24.18 and last traded at $24.2060. Approximately 8,038,981 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 19,149,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.56.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities lifted their price target on Kinross Gold from $22.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cormark cut shares of Kinross Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Kinross Gold in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.69.

Kinross Gold Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.60.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The mining company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.05. Kinross Gold had a net margin of 25.18% and a return on equity of 20.04%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Kinross Gold’s revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Kinross Gold Corporation will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinross Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.035 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 26th. This is a positive change from Kinross Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Kinross Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinross Gold

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Kinross Gold by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 107,960,623 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $2,682,791,000 after purchasing an additional 7,825,336 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 3.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,738,541 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,259,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,553,594 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Kinross Gold by 36.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 47,526,913 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $632,797,000 after buying an additional 12,705,061 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kinross Gold in the 2nd quarter worth about $389,025,000. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in Kinross Gold by 47.8% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 16,739,969 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $261,646,000 after buying an additional 5,411,491 shares during the last quarter. 63.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Kinross Gold

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.