Short Interest in Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) Expands By 22.4%

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) (TSE:AEM) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,400,000 shares, a growth of 22.4% from the February 13th total of 5,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,110,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Agnico Eagle Mines

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEM. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 30,997 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 8,390 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in Agnico Eagle Mines during the fourth quarter worth $14,361,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new position in Agnico Eagle Mines in the fourth quarter valued at $593,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in Agnico Eagle Mines by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 84,041 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $6,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 63,328 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,953,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the period. 68.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agnico Eagle Mines Stock Performance

NYSE AEM opened at $105.52 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.53. The stock has a market cap of $53.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 1.86. Agnico Eagle Mines has a fifty-two week low of $54.02 and a fifty-two week high of $107.88.

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) (TSE:AEM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The mining company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.70 by ($0.44). Agnico Eagle Mines had a net margin of 22.88% and a return on equity of 10.45%. On average, equities analysts expect that Agnico Eagle Mines will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Agnico Eagle Mines’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Agnico Eagle Mines from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Securities dropped their price target on Agnico Eagle Mines from $108.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Raymond James set a $105.00 target price on Agnico Eagle Mines and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.78.

Agnico Eagle Mines Company Profile

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, a gold mining company, exploration, development, and production of precious metals. It explores for gold. The company's mines are located in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico, with exploration and development activities in Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.