Hudbay Minerals (NYSE:HBM) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Hudbay Minerals Inc. (NYSE:HBM) (TSE:HBM)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $7.73, but opened at $7.98. Hudbay Minerals shares last traded at $7.97, with a volume of 1,071,222 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Hudbay Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $11.17.

Hudbay Minerals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.70 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $8.49.

Hudbay Minerals (NYSE:HBM) (TSE:HBM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The mining company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $584.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $588.28 million. Hudbay Minerals had a net margin of 3.80% and a return on equity of 7.29%. Hudbay Minerals’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hudbay Minerals Inc. will post 0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hudbay Minerals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a dividend of $0.007 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a positive change from Hudbay Minerals’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.01. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 4th. Hudbay Minerals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.56%.

Institutional Trading of Hudbay Minerals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hudbay Minerals by 121.7% during the 4th quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 1,694,700 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $13,550,000 after acquiring an additional 930,300 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Hudbay Minerals by 83.8% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 224,070 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after purchasing an additional 102,179 shares during the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Hudbay Minerals in the fourth quarter worth $193,000. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Hudbay Minerals by 216.5% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,124,494 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $17,208,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Hudbay Minerals by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 783,146 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 87,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.82% of the company’s stock.

About Hudbay Minerals

Hudbay Minerals Inc, a diversified mining company, focuses on the exploration, development, operation, and optimization of properties in North and South America. It produces copper concentrates containing gold, silver, and molybdenum; gold concentrates containing zinc; zinc concentrates; molybdenum concentrates; and silver/gold doré.