Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $20.65, but opened at $21.48. Gold Fields shares last traded at $21.39, with a volume of 596,420 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on GFI. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Gold Fields from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gold Fields from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Gold Fields from $17.10 to $18.80 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.20.

Gold Fields Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $18.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.96.

Gold Fields Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.3752 per share. This represents a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gold Fields’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. Gold Fields’s payout ratio is 25.53%.

Institutional Trading of Gold Fields

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GFI. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Gold Fields by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 105,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Gold Fields by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 17,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 720 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Gold Fields by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 48,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Gold Fields by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Gold Fields by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.81% of the company’s stock.

About Gold Fields

Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, Australia, and Peru. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.