Beyond Salares Norte: BMO Upgrades Gold Fields Despite Project Delays - Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI)

　　BMO Capital Marketsanalyst Raj Ray upgraded Gold Fields LimitedGFI to Market Perform from Underperform and slightly increased the price target to $14.00 (from $13.50).

　　The bullish stance reflects revised gold price forecasts released today. Since early February, Gold Fields shares have trailed the GDX by approximately 23%, despite favorable gold prices owing to recent operational volatility, delays and ramp-up challenges at the Salares Norte project in Chile, and a recent revision of guidance.

　　Gold Fields has lagged behind its peers due to challenges such as delays in ramping up Salares Norte, subsequent guidance revisions, and operational fluctuations, writes the analyst.

　　Still, the company has shown strong operational consistency despite recent volatility since 2020, the analyst says.

　　New management aims to enhance productivity and consistency, especially at Salares Norte.

　　Ray raised the EPS forecast to $1.31 (from $1.21) vs. consensus of $1.31 in FY24 and $1.49 (from $1.31) vs. street view of $2.00 in FY25.

　　Investors can gain exposure to the stock via VanEck Gold Miners ETF GDX and Themes Gold Miners ETFAUMI.

　　Price Action: GFI shares are up 0.90% at $15.06 at the last check Wednesday.

　　Disclaimer:This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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