Equinox Gold Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX)

Equinox Gold Corp. (NYSEAMERICAN:EQX) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders purchased 15,515 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 76% compared to the typical volume of 8,816 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EQX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a report on Monday, January 26th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Equinox Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Equinox Gold in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Equinox Gold from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Equinox Gold in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $17.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Equinox Gold by 91.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 96,024,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,077,394,000 after purchasing an additional 45,820,861 shares during the period. FIL Ltd bought a new position in Equinox Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $332,888,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Equinox Gold by 120.4% during the 2nd quarter. L1 Capital Pty Ltd now owns 23,908,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,476,000 after buying an additional 13,060,846 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Equinox Gold by 44,440.1% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,364,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,850,000 after buying an additional 10,341,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Equinox Gold during the fourth quarter valued at about $141,388,000. 38.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equinox Gold Price Performance

NYSEAMERICAN EQX opened at $14.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $11.73 billion, a PE ratio of 62.00 and a beta of 1.20. Equinox Gold has a 52 week low of $5.59 and a 52 week high of $18.96. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.42.

Equinox Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.015 per share. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 12th. Equinox Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.11%.

About Equinox Gold

Equinox Gold Corp is a Canadian gold mining company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The company focuses on the acquisition, development, and operation of gold properties, with an emphasis on open-pit heap leach mining. Since its inception, Equinox Gold has pursued a strategy of combining assets in established jurisdictions to build a diversified portfolio that balances production and growth, while maintaining rigorous safety and environmental standards.

Equinox Gold’s operating portfolio spans three countries.