Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Newmont (NYSE:NEM)

Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 53,748 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 26% compared to the average daily volume of 42,662 call options.

Newmont Trading Up 4.7 %

NYSE:NEM opened at $51.06 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.05. The stock has a market cap of $57.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Newmont has a 12 month low of $36.60 and a 12 month high of $58.72.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.29. Newmont had a net margin of 17.92% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Equities analysts predict that Newmont will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Newmont Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Newmont in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $47.20 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Newmont from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Newmont from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Newmont from $52.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of Newmont to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Newmont has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.09.

Insider Activity

In other Newmont news, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of Newmont stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $131,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,526 shares in the company, valued at $3,782,051.46. The trade was a 3.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.71, for a total transaction of $90,785.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,094,408.36. This represents a 4.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,154 shares of company stock worth $825,678 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newmont

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEM. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Newmont by 58.6% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $794,000 after purchasing an additional 5,489 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Newmont by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 104,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,575,000 after purchasing an additional 5,695 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Newmont by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 344,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,404,000 after buying an additional 19,366 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its position in Newmont by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 23,136 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 2,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Newmont by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,484,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,253,457,000 after buying an additional 326,243 shares during the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Newmont

Newmont Corporation engages in the production and exploration of gold. It also explores for copper, silver, zinc, and lead. The company has operations and/or assets in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, Argentina, Chile, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Ecuador, Fiji, and Ghana.