Newmont Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NEM)

Newmont Co. (NYSE:NEM) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 51,593 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 46% compared to the typical daily volume of 35,327 call options.

Newmont Price Performance

Newmont stock opened at $55.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.49. Newmont has a 1 year low of $29.42 and a 1 year high of $56.09.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.10. Newmont had a negative net margin of 13.16% and a positive return on equity of 8.35%. The business had revenue of $4.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 64.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Newmont will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Newmont Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 5th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 5th. Newmont’s dividend payout ratio is currently -37.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on NEM. Bank of America lifted their price target on Newmont from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Newmont from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Newmont from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. CIBC upgraded shares of Newmont from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $46.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Newmont from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $48.00 to $59.00 in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.62.

Insider Activity at Newmont

In other Newmont news, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total transaction of $157,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 94,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,963,452.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Newmont news, CEO Thomas Ronald Palmer sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $990,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 311,469 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,420,830.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Peter Toth sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.47, for a total transaction of $157,410.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 94,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,963,452.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,744,700 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Newmont

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in Newmont by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 31,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 3,575 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Newmont by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 80,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,323,000 after purchasing an additional 25,976 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Newmont during the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Newmont by 417.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Newmont by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 136,414 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 2,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.85% of the company’s stock.

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.