Harmony Gold Mining Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:HMY)

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 3,094 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 64% compared to the average daily volume of 1,882 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Harmony Gold Mining

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Harmony Gold Mining in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC bought a new position in Harmony Gold Mining in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $52,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Harmony Gold Mining by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,622 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 1,496 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Harmony Gold Mining in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new position in Harmony Gold Mining in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 31.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Harmony Gold Mining Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HMY opened at $11.59 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $10.19 and a 200-day moving average of $9.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 8.34 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Harmony Gold Mining has a 12 month low of $4.42 and a 12 month high of $12.29.

Harmony Gold Mining Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a $0.042 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. Harmony Gold Mining’s payout ratio is presently 5.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on HMY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Harmony Gold Mining from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $4.90 to $8.20 in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Harmony Gold Mining in a research report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company.

Harmony Gold Mining Company Profile

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited engages in the exploration, extraction, and processing of gold. The company explores for uranium, silver, copper, and molybdenum deposits. It has eight underground operations in the Witwatersrand Basin; an open-pit mine on the Kraaipan Greenstone Belt; and various surface source operations in South Africa.