Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Iamgold Corporation (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $10.96, but opened at $12.28. Iamgold shares last traded at $12.2640, with a volume of 4,968,825 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on IAG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Iamgold from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $9.00 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Iamgold from $8.50 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Stifel Canada raised Iamgold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research cut Iamgold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Iamgold from $9.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Iamgold has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $15.25.

Iamgold Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $11.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.22.

Iamgold (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The mining company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.14 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $587.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.21 million. Iamgold had a net margin of 40.61% and a return on equity of 8.54%. Research analysts forecast that Iamgold Corporation will post 0.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iamgold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Iamgold by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,594,479 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $134,764,000 after purchasing an additional 361,608 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Iamgold by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 20,917,319 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $154,046,000 after purchasing an additional 2,302,527 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Iamgold by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,092,101 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $75,489,000 after purchasing an additional 1,929,787 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Iamgold by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,536,289 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $53,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,354 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Iamgold by 183.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,614,294 shares of the mining company’s stock worth $56,118,000 after purchasing an additional 4,928,077 shares during the period. 47.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.