Short Interest in Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) Decreases By 8.6%

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,380,000 shares, a decrease of 8.6% from the August 31st total of 9,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GFI shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Gold Fields in a research report on Monday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Gold Fields from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Gold Fields from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.50 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Gold Fields from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Gold Fields from $17.50 to $16.70 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $15.93.

Gold Fields Price Performance

NYSE GFI traded up $0.99 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $16.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,209,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,796,271. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.27 and a 200 day moving average of $15.77. Gold Fields has a one year low of $10.31 and a one year high of $18.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.62 billion, a PE ratio of 8.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.17.

Gold Fields Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.1692 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Gold Fields’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.84%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GFI. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Gold Fields during the fourth quarter valued at about $875,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Gold Fields by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,240,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,861,000 after purchasing an additional 139,205 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP grew its holdings in Gold Fields by 1,916.6% during the fourth quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 305,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,420,000 after purchasing an additional 290,543 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gold Fields during the fourth quarter valued at about $313,000. Institutional investors own 26.02% of the company’s stock.

About Gold Fields

Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, Australia, and Peru. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.