Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on Iamgold (NYSE:IAG)

Iamgold Corporation (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders purchased 10,553 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 268% compared to the average daily volume of 2,869 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Iamgold to $25.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research downgraded Iamgold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Iamgold from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.75.

Iamgold Trading Down 4.4%

IAG stock traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.16. 1,024,413 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,640,746. Iamgold has a 1-year low of $6.69 and a 1-year high of $24.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.40.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The mining company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $955.17 million. Iamgold had a return on equity of 26.65% and a net margin of 29.49%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Iamgold will post 2.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iamgold

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Iamgold by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 110,033 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,814,000 after purchasing an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA raised its position in Iamgold by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 37,000 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Iamgold by 73.6% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,712 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in Iamgold by 0.6% during the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 220,452 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. boosted its position in shares of Iamgold by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 343,605 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $5,716,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the period. 47.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Iamgold

IAMGOLD Corporation, founded in 1990 and headquartered in Toronto, is a mid-tier gold producer engaged in the exploration, development and operation of gold mining assets. The company’s primary focus is on the discovery and extraction of gold, with a portfolio that spans both operating mines and advanced development projects. IAMGOLD combines in-house technical expertise with strategic partnerships to advance projects from exploration through to production.

The company’s principal producing assets include the Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso, which began commercial production in 2010, and the Westwood underground gold mine in Quebec’s Abitibi region.