Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC) (TSE:K) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on KGC. National Bank Financial upgraded Kinross Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Kinross Gold from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $13.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Canada raised shares of Kinross Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $12.30.

Kinross Gold Price Performance

Shares of KGC stock opened at $11.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $11.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 2.01. Kinross Gold has a 52-week low of $6.20 and a 52-week high of $12.90.

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

Kinross Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 5th were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. Kinross Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinross Gold

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KGC. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 62.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 116,323,261 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,078,330,000 after acquiring an additional 44,610,091 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kinross Gold during the 4th quarter worth approximately $280,697,000. Man Group plc increased its stake in Kinross Gold by 174.2% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 9,243,267 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $85,685,000 after purchasing an additional 5,871,904 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kinross Gold by 80.9% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 12,610,383 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $116,898,000 after buying an additional 5,639,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kinross Gold by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 32,862,230 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $304,633,000 after buying an additional 3,224,455 shares during the period. 63.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.