Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $13.67.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Gold Fields from $15.50 to $15.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Gold Fields from a “market perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $12.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. UBS Group downgraded Gold Fields from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Gold Fields from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th.

Gold Fields Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:GFI opened at $16.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Gold Fields has a 1 year low of $10.31 and a 1 year high of $18.97. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.41.

Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.10. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gold Fields will post 1.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gold Fields Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.1717 dividend. This is a positive change from Gold Fields’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a yield of 2.5%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gold Fields

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GFI. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gold Fields by 136.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 221,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,209,000 after buying an additional 128,262 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Gold Fields in the 3rd quarter worth $2,046,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in Gold Fields in the 4th quarter worth $3,897,000. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Gold Fields in the 3rd quarter worth about $165,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Gold Fields by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 71,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 19,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.02% 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.