Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM) (TSE:AEM) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,400,000 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the February 13th total of 5,230,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,110,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Agnico Eagle Mines

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 5,472 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. raised its position in Agnico Eagle Mines by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 412 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,944 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Group Inc. now owns 24,407 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,753 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $569,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. 68.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AEM. Raymond James set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Agnico Eagle Mines from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Agnico Eagle Mines from $108.00 to $106.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Agnico Eagle Mines from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from $96.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agnico Eagle Mines currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.78.

Agnico Eagle Mines Price Performance

AEM traded up $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $105.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,751,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,336,461. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.40. The company has a market cap of $53.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.00. Agnico Eagle Mines has a 1 year low of $54.02 and a 1 year high of $107.76.

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM) (TSE:AEM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The mining company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by ($0.44). Agnico Eagle Mines had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 22.88%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Agnico Eagle Mines will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. Agnico Eagle Mines’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.33%.

Agnico Eagle Mines Company Profile

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, a gold mining company, exploration, development, and production of precious metals. It explores for gold. The company's mines are located in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico, with exploration and development activities in Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.