Zacks Research Downgrades Newmont (NYSE:NEM) to Hold

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NEM. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Newmont in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $99.00 target price on shares of Newmont and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Newmont from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 2nd. Macquarie lowered shares of Newmont from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on Newmont from $67.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.99.

Newmont Trading Down 4.1%

Shares of NEM traded down $3.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,377,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,670,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $91.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.33. Newmont has a 1 year low of $36.86 and a 1 year high of $98.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.20 and its 200 day moving average is $69.54.

Newmont (NYSE:NEM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The basic materials company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $5.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.14 billion. Newmont had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 33.42%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Newmont will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Thomas Ronald Palmer sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.34, for a total value of $406,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 279,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,768,936.82. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce R. Brook sold 2,080 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.96, for a total transaction of $168,396.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,789 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,816,517.44. This trade represents a 5.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 11,237 shares of company stock worth $906,799 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Newmont

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Newmont by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 13,606 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Newmont by 20.6% in the first quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,234 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Newmont by 6.4% in the first quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 15,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $731,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Newmont by 17.8% in the first quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 339,756 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,403,000 after purchasing an additional 51,369 shares during the period. Finally, Cadence Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Newmont by 20.6% during the first quarter. Cadence Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 2,895 shares during the last quarter. 68.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Newmont Company Profile

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.