Novagold Resources Inc. $NG Stock Holdings Lifted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Novagold Resources Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:NG) (TSE:NG) by 32,405.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,722,006 shares of the mining company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,704,403 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Novagold Resources were worth $51,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Novagold Resources during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in shares of Novagold Resources in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Novagold Resources in the first quarter worth approximately $44,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Novagold Resources during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Novagold Resources by 307.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 5,300 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.56% of the company’s stock.

Novagold Resources Trading Down 2.8%

Novagold Resources stock opened at $5.18 on Friday. Novagold Resources Inc. has a 12 month low of $5.07 and a 12 month high of $14.40. The company has a quick ratio of 112.82, a current ratio of 112.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.47 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NG. Scotiabank raised Novagold Resources to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group began coverage on Novagold Resources in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They set a “speculative buy” rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Novagold Resources from $13.80 to $13.60 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Novagold Resources from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $13.22.

Novagold Resources Profile

Novagold Resources Inc is a mineral exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The firm is focused on advancing large-scale precious metals projects through disciplined project management, environmental stewardship and community engagement. Novagold maintains a lean corporate structure while leveraging partnerships and industry expertise to advance its projects toward production.

The company’s flagship asset is the Donlin Gold project in Alaska, a 50/50 joint venture with Barrick Gold Corporation.