Investors Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Harmony Gold Mining (NYSE:HMY)

Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Investors purchased 4,248 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 177% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,531 call options.

Harmony Gold Mining Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HMY opened at $14.08 on Friday. Harmony Gold Mining has a 52-week low of $7.97 and a 52-week high of $14.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.30.

Harmony Gold Mining Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Harmony Gold Mining

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in shares of Harmony Gold Mining in the fourth quarter valued at $20,229,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in Harmony Gold Mining in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,412,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Harmony Gold Mining during the 4th quarter worth about $923,000. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Harmony Gold Mining by 298.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 52,383 shares of the mining company’s stock valued at $525,000 after acquiring an additional 39,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Harmony Gold Mining in the 4th quarter valued at about $188,000. 31.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Harmony Gold Mining

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.