Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Gold Fields Put Options (NYSE:GFI)

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 4,799 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 59% compared to the average volume of 3,020 put options.

Gold Fields Stock Performance

NYSE:GFI opened at $23.74 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $21.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.06. Gold Fields has a 52-week low of $12.98 and a 52-week high of $25.01.

Gold Fields Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.3752 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gold Fields’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. Gold Fields’s dividend payout ratio is 25.96%.

Institutional Trading of Gold Fields

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FCA Corp TX bought a new position in shares of Gold Fields in the 4th quarter valued at about $108,000. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in Gold Fields in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $136,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Gold Fields by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Gold Fields during the 4th quarter worth $139,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gold Fields during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. 24.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GFI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Gold Fields from $17.10 to $18.80 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Gold Fields from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Gold Fields from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gold Fields has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $17.95.

Gold Fields Company Profile

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.