Harmony Gold Mining Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:HMY)

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 4,248 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 177% compared to the typical volume of 1,531 call options.

Harmony Gold Mining Stock Up 9.2 %

Shares of HMY traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $14.02. 6,781,437 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,177,134. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.56. The company has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $11.45 and its 200-day moving average is $10.25. Harmony Gold Mining has a fifty-two week low of $7.97 and a fifty-two week high of $14.37.

Harmony Gold Mining Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.1245 dividend. This is an increase from Harmony Gold Mining’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.9%. Harmony Gold Mining’s payout ratio is 11.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Harmony Gold Mining from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Institutional Trading of Harmony Gold Mining

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of HMY. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Harmony Gold Mining by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,312,235 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $27,193,000 after purchasing an additional 171,282 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Harmony Gold Mining by 76.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,676,433 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $27,219,000 after buying an additional 1,162,292 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Harmony Gold Mining by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,635,182 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $21,635,000 after buying an additional 982,740 shares during the period. ABC Arbitrage SA acquired a new stake in Harmony Gold Mining in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,229,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Harmony Gold Mining by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,599,913 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $13,135,000 after acquiring an additional 171,136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 31.79% of the company’s stock.

Harmony Gold Mining Company Profile

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited engages in the exploration, extraction, and processing of gold. The company explores for uranium, silver, copper, and molybdenum deposits. It has eight underground operations in the Witwatersrand Basin; an open-pit mine on the Kraaipan Greenstone Belt; and various surface source operations in South Africa.