Short Interest in IAMGOLD Co. (NYSE:IAG) Rises By 23.3%

IAMGOLD Co. (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,820,000 shares, a growth of 23.3% from the November 30th total of 5,530,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.8 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IAG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC raised IAMGOLD from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $6.00 price target on shares of IAMGOLD in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. National Bank Financial upgraded IAMGOLD from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of IAMGOLD from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of IAMGOLD from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, IAMGOLD presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.68.

IAMGOLD Stock Performance

NYSE IAG traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, reaching $5.13. 2,902,406 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,746,778. IAMGOLD has a fifty-two week low of $2.23 and a fifty-two week high of $6.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $5.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $4.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IAMGOLD

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IAG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in IAMGOLD by 66.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,511,328 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $7,904,000 after acquiring an additional 604,259 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of IAMGOLD in the 3rd quarter valued at $267,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in IAMGOLD by 15.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 274,377 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after buying an additional 37,005 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in IAMGOLD by 2.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 264,288 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,392,000 after buying an additional 6,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of IAMGOLD during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,083,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.08% of the company’s stock.

IAMGOLD Company Profile

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.