Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI)

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors bought 52,720 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,022% compared to the average volume of 2,485 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gold Fields

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 29,976 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 3,136 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in Gold Fields during the second quarter worth approximately $440,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Gold Fields by 51.0% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 87,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,938,000 after buying an additional 29,555 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 2.7% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 11.8% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.81% of the company’s stock.

Gold Fields Stock Performance

Shares of Gold Fields stock opened at $45.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.97. Gold Fields has a fifty-two week low of $31.11 and a fifty-two week high of $61.64.

Gold Fields Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $1.0144 dividend. This represents a yield of 445.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on GFI shares. Scotiabank cut their price target on Gold Fields from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gold Fields from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Gold Fields in a research report on Monday, August 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Gold Fields from $75.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Gold Fields from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.05.

Gold Fields Company Profile

Gold Fields Limited is a global gold producer headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company explores for, develops and operates gold mines, producing doré and other gold-bearing products for refining and sale. Its portfolio also includes limited by-product production, such as copper and silver, at certain operations.

Gold Fields operates mines and development projects across Africa, Australia and the Americas. Its assets include the South Deep mine in South Africa; Tarkwa and the Damang complex in Ghana; St Ives, Agnew and Granny Smith in Western Australia; Cerro Corona in Peru; and Salares Norte in Chile.