Gold Fields Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:GFI)

Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Stock traders acquired 7,111 call options on the company. This is an increase of 172% compared to the average daily volume of 2,610 call options.

Gold Fields Stock Performance

GFI stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $18.87. 1,655,204 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,787,074. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $15.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $15.50. Gold Fields has a one year low of $12.28 and a one year high of $19.80.

Institutional Trading of Gold Fields

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 3.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 48,505,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $744,566,000 after purchasing an additional 1,549,372 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Gold Fields by 10.4% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,155,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,492,000 after acquiring an additional 580,546 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Gold Fields by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 3,107,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,684,000 after acquiring an additional 211,333 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Gold Fields by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,976,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,283,000 after acquiring an additional 178,973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Gold Fields by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 2,710,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,784,000 after acquiring an additional 227,704 shares during the last quarter. 24.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on GFI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gold Fields from $17.10 to $18.80 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com raised Gold Fields from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gold Fields presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.45.

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.