Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Harmony Gold Mining Call Options (NYSE:HMY)

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 3,094 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 64% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,882 call options.

Harmony Gold Mining Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HMY traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $11.54. 1,590,055 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,834,646. Harmony Gold Mining has a 12-month low of $4.42 and a 12-month high of $12.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $9.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24 and a beta of 1.79.

Harmony Gold Mining Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th were given a dividend of $0.042 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. This represents a yield of 1.2%. Harmony Gold Mining’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Harmony Gold Mining during the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new position in shares of Harmony Gold Mining in the first quarter valued at $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Harmony Gold Mining by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Harmony Gold Mining during the 1st quarter worth $61,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new position in Harmony Gold Mining in the 1st quarter worth $77,000. 31.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HMY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Harmony Gold Mining in a research note on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Harmony Gold Mining from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $4.90 to $8.20 in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Harmony Gold Mining Company Profile

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited engages in the exploration, extraction, and processing of gold. The company explores for uranium, silver, copper, and molybdenum deposits. It has eight underground operations in the Witwatersrand Basin; an open-pit mine on the Kraaipan Greenstone Belt; and various surface source operations in South Africa.