Lundin Gold (TSE:LUG) Shares Up 6.7% – Here’s Why

Lundin Gold Inc. (TSE:LUG) shot up 6.7% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as C$79.16 and last traded at C$79.01. 143,567 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 671,340 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$74.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LUG. National Bankshares downgraded shares of Lundin Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$67.75 to C$89.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Veritas downgraded shares of Lundin Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Lundin Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from C$65.00 to C$73.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cormark downgraded shares of Lundin Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Lundin Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of C$54.18.

Lundin Gold Stock Up 6.5%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$69.44 and its 200 day moving average is C$55.21. The stock has a market capitalization of C$13.47 billion, a PE ratio of 44.29 and a beta of 1.23.

Lundin Gold Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 25th were paid a dividend of $0.2075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.83 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Lundin Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 60.06%.

Insider Transactions at Lundin Gold

In other news, Senior Officer Terrence Smith sold 40,656 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$64.06, for a total transaction of C$2,604,423.36. Also, Senior Officer Sheila Margaret Colman sold 1,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$75.05, for a total transaction of C$105,070.00. Insiders have sold a total of 65,056 shares of company stock worth $4,166,044 in the last 90 days. 58.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lundin Gold Company Profile

Lundin Gold Inc is a Canada based company focused on its Fruta del Norte gold operation and developing its portfolio of mineral concessions in Ecuador. The Fruta del Norte deposit is located within a 150 km long copper-gold metallogenic sub-province located in the Cordillera del Condor region in southeastern Ecuador.