IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) Shares Up 9.8% – Still a Buy?

IAMGOLD Co. (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG)’s share price shot up 9.8% on Friday . The company traded as high as $5.87 and last traded at $5.84. 2,911,795 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 9,050,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IAG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of IAMGOLD from $4.75 to $5.50 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. CIBC increased their price target on IAMGOLD from $5.40 to $6.40 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised shares of IAMGOLD from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $7.75 to $10.50 in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. National Bank Financial raised shares of IAMGOLD from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of IAMGOLD from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, IAMGOLD presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.68.

IAMGOLD Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $5.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The mining company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $385.30 million for the quarter. IAMGOLD had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 10.36%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.01) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that IAMGOLD Co. will post 0.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IAMGOLD

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IAG. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of IAMGOLD by 158.1% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,636,087 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $24,301,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839,556 shares during the last quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its position in IAMGOLD by 213.1% during the third quarter. PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 942,900 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $4,942,000 after buying an additional 641,750 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in IAMGOLD by 2.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 698,107 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $3,661,000 after purchasing an additional 17,608 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its position in shares of IAMGOLD by 10.6% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 70,244 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 6,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in IAMGOLD during the third quarter worth $296,000. Institutional investors own 47.08% of the company’s stock.

About IAMGOLD

IAMGOLD Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an intermediate gold producer and developer in Canada and Burkina Faso. It owns 100% interest in the Westwood project that covers an area of 1,925 hectare and located in Quebec; a 60% interest in the Côté gold project, which covers an area of 596 square kilometer located in Ontario, Canada; and a 90% interests in the Essakane project that covers an area of 274,000 square kilometer situated in Burkina Faso.