Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on GFI. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Gold Fields from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Gold Fields from $17.10 to $18.80 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $17.20.

Gold Fields Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GFI opened at $20.13 on Friday. Gold Fields has a 1 year low of $12.98 and a 1 year high of $20.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $15.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.14.

Gold Fields Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Gold Fields

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new stake in Gold Fields during the fourth quarter worth $33,486,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Gold Fields by 1,594.7% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,114,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,913,000 after buying an additional 1,989,849 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its holdings in Gold Fields by 119.9% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,417,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,709,000 after buying an additional 772,928 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Gold Fields during the fourth quarter worth $9,033,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new stake in Gold Fields during the third quarter worth $9,911,000. Hedge funds and other 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.