Short Interest in Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) Expands By 22.5%

Kinross Gold Co. (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,890,000 shares, an increase of 22.5% from the February 28th total of 9,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 21,070,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinross Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KGC. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Kinross Gold during the 4th quarter worth about $5,398,000. Comprehensive Money Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Kinross Gold during the fourth quarter worth approximately $312,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Kinross Gold by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 185,313 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 89,313 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 13,951,818 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $129,435,000 after buying an additional 2,438,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Kinross Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $758,000. Institutional investors own 63.69% of the company’s stock.

Kinross Gold Stock Performance

NYSE KGC opened at $12.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.29. Kinross Gold has a twelve month low of $6.20 and a twelve month high of $12.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $11.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The mining company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.03). Kinross Gold had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 18.43%. Sell-side analysts expect that Kinross Gold will post 0.81 EPS for the current year.

Kinross Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. Kinross Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on KGC. CIBC lifted their target price on Kinross Gold from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Kinross Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Canada upgraded Kinross Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Kinross Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $11.63.

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.