Gold Fields Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GFI)

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Monday. Investors bought 4,799 put options on the company. This is an increase of 59% compared to the average volume of 3,020 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on GFI shares. StockNews.com cut Gold Fields from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Gold Fields from $17.10 to $18.80 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. HSBC reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of Gold Fields in a report on Thursday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Gold Fields from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $18.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi boosted its stake in Gold Fields by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,107,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,684,000 after buying an additional 211,333 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,976,004 shares of the company's stock worth $39,283,000 after acquiring an additional 178,973 shares in the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Gold Fields by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 2,710,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,784,000 after acquiring an additional 227,704 shares during the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in shares of Gold Fields in the fourth quarter valued at $33,486,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,164,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,490,000 after purchasing an additional 219,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.81% of the company's stock.

Gold Fields Stock Performance

GFI traded down $0.63 during trading on Friday, reaching $24.04. 4,859,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,664,572. Gold Fields has a 12-month low of $12.98 and a 12-month high of $25.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.28. The company has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.92.

Gold Fields Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.3752 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Gold Fields's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. Gold Fields's payout ratio is presently 25.96%.

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.