Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW)

Sibanye Gold Limited (NYSE:SBSW) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 20,985 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 80% compared to the average volume of 11,668 call options.

Sibanye Gold Stock Performance

Sibanye Gold stock opened at $16.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $12.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 1.53. Sibanye Gold has a 1-year low of $3.05 and a 1-year high of $21.29.

Sibanye Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.2614 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 20th. This represents a yield of 164.0%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sibanye Gold

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sibanye Gold by 113.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 21,248 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Sibanye Gold by 363.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,171,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,526,000 after buying an additional 2,487,648 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sibanye Gold by 196.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,576,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,379,000 after acquiring an additional 2,370,443 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sibanye Gold in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Sibanye Gold in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,484,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Sibanye Gold from $14.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. HSBC raised shares of Sibanye Gold from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.80 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Sibanye Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sibanye Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Sibanye Gold in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $19.93.

About Sibanye Gold

Sibanye Gold (NYSE:SBSW) is a precious metals mining company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company’s core operations focus on the extraction, processing and exploration of gold. Through its South African gold mining operations, Sibanye Gold produces doré bars, gold in concentrate and carbon-in-leach product, leveraging both underground and surface mining techniques. The company also generates by-products such as uranium, copper and nickel, reflecting its commitment to maximizing resource recovery.

In addition to its South African footprint, Sibanye Gold has expanded into the platinum‐group metals (PGM) sector through its acquisition of Stillwater Mining Company in 2017.