Daniel Pretorius Sells 35,537 Shares of DRDGOLD (NYSE:DRD) Stock

DRDGOLD Limited (NYSE:DRD) CEO Daniel Pretorius sold 35,537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.75, for a total transaction of $97,726.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 999,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,749,494. This represents a 3.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

DRDGOLD Stock Down 3.6%

DRD opened at $28.54 on Friday. DRDGOLD Limited has a 1-year low of $19.47 and a 1-year high of $39.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $23.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.09.

DRDGOLD (NYSE:DRD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 19th. The basic materials company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $188.03 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that DRDGOLD Limited will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

DRDGOLD Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.7379 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 530.0%.

Institutional Trading of DRDGOLD

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of DRDGOLD during the first quarter valued at about $1,759,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in DRDGOLD by 7,065.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 29,673 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in DRDGOLD by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 291,249 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,882,000 after purchasing an additional 124,831 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in DRDGOLD by 174.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 124,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,656,000 after buying an additional 78,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in DRDGOLD by 138.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 42,846 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 24,845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.70% of the company’s stock.

DRDGOLD News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting DRDGOLD this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong year and gold-market exposure: Mining Weekly characterized the past year as “very good” for DRDGOLD, supporting the view that favorable gold prices and operating performance remain important catalysts for the gold-tailings retreatment company. It’s been a very good year for DRDGOLD
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and analyst support: DRDGOLD declared a $0.7379-per-share dividend payable September 21 to shareholders of record September 11. HC Wainwright also raised its price target to $35 and maintained a Buy rating, while the reported analyst consensus is Hold with a $35 target.
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional accumulation: Several funds increased their holdings during the second quarter, including JPMorgan, Arrowstreet Capital, Jane Street and Bank of America. Institutional investors collectively own about 14.7% of the company, providing some evidence of continued professional-investor interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales followed award vesting: CEO Daniel Pretorius, CFO Henriette Hooijer, COO Jacobus Schoeman and other insiders sold shares on September 1 at an average price of $2.75. The transactions followed deferred-award vesting, so they may represent routine tax or liquidity-related sales rather than a negative change in management’s view of the business. The CEO retained nearly 1 million shares after his sale. DRDGOLD stock gains as insider share sales follow deferred award vesting
• Negative Sentiment: Broad insider selling weighs on sentiment: Nine executives and insiders sold approximately 127,494 shares worth $350,609 in total. Several individuals reduced their positions by roughly 45% to 85%, while Zacks Research downgraded the stock to Strong Sell. The breadth of selling could create near-term concern despite the company’s favorable operating trends. DRDGOLD insider selling report

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on DRD shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of DRDGOLD from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of DRDGOLD from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of DRDGOLD in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of DRDGOLD from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DRDGOLD currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

DRDGOLD Company Profile

DRDGOLD (NYSE: DRD) is a South African gold producer focused on the retreatment of surface tailings from historic mining operations on the Witwatersrand Basin. The company recovers fine gold particles from low‐grade tailings using an integrated, carbon‐in‐leach (CIL) processing circuit that is designed to maximize yield and minimize environmental impact. DRDGOLD’s operations are centered on sustainable resource utilization, transforming previously discarded material into saleable gold doré bars.

The company operates two primary tailings retreatment facilities on the West Rand and East Rand of Gauteng Province.