DRDGOLD (NYSE:DRD) Stock Rating Raised to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of DRDGOLD (NYSE:DRD) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday,Zacks reports.

DRD has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of DRDGOLD in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of DRDGOLD from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of DRDGOLD from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.00.

DRDGOLD Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRD opened at $25.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.53. DRDGOLD has a 52-week low of $19.47 and a 52-week high of $39.37.

DRDGOLD (NYSE:DRD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $188.03 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that DRDGOLD will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DRDGOLD Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 21st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.7379 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 551.0%.

Insider Transactions at DRDGOLD

In other news, COO Jacobus Schoeman sold 19,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.75, for a total transaction of $53,358.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,750. This trade represents a 43.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Henry Gouws sold 16,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.75, for a total transaction of $46,271.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 3,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,387.50. This represents a 84.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 139,080 shares of company stock worth $382,470. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of DRDGOLD

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its holdings in DRDGOLD by 9.7% during the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 31,343 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 2,780 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in DRDGOLD by 49.5% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 37,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 12,556 shares in the last quarter. Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in DRDGOLD in the second quarter valued at $202,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in DRDGOLD by 111.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 34,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 18,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in DRDGOLD by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 507,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,911,000 after buying an additional 42,342 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.70% of the company’s stock.

DRDGOLD Company Profile

DRDGOLD Limited is a South African gold producer focused on the retreatment of surface mine waste. Rather than operating conventional underground mines, the company processes gold-bearing tailings, sand dumps and slimes dams left by historical mining activities, recovering gold and reducing the environmental footprint of legacy mine waste.

DRDGOLD’s principal operations are the Ergo and Far West Gold Recoveries (FWGR) businesses. Ergo processes surface material from areas around Johannesburg and the East Rand, while FWGR operates on the West Rand and Far West Rand.