Teck Resources Ltd (NYSE:TECK) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Teck Resources Ltd (NYSE:TECK) (TSE:TECK) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,530,763 shares, a decrease of 42.7% from the August 15th total of 13,136,384 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,108,390 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Teck Resources Stock Down 0.7%

TECK traded down $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.20. 2,024,881 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,658,823. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 3.12 and a quick ratio of 2.33. Teck Resources has a fifty-two week low of $38.00 and a fifty-two week high of $72.56. The stock has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.94.

Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK) (TSE:TECK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The basic materials company reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.40. Teck Resources had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 17.85%.The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 78.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Teck Resources will post 4.03 EPS for the current year.

Teck Resources Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Teck Resources’s payout ratio is presently 9.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on TECK. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of Teck Resources in a research note on Monday, June 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Teck Resources from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Teck Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 26th. Veritas downgraded shares of Teck Resources from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Teck Resources from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Teck Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Teck Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Teck Resources by 17.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,044,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,139,051,000 after buying an additional 3,211,985 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Teck Resources by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd now owns 10,298,293 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $493,185,000 after acquiring an additional 2,477,344 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Teck Resources during the 4th quarter worth about $404,880,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Teck Resources by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,939,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $380,218,000 after acquiring an additional 836,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBK Investments L P increased its holdings in shares of Teck Resources by 264.2% during the 2nd quarter. HBK Investments L P now owns 5,773,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $343,270,000 after acquiring an additional 4,188,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.06% of the company’s stock.

About Teck Resources

Teck Resources Limited is a Canadian mining and metals company focused primarily on the exploration, development and production of base metals. Its principal products include copper, zinc and lead, along with associated by-products such as molybdenum, silver and germanium. Copper is an increasingly important part of Teck’s business as the metal is used in electrical infrastructure, renewable energy systems, transportation and industrial applications.

Teck operates and develops mining assets in Canada, Chile and Peru.