Kinross Gold’s CFO leaves, two months after CEO replaced

Only two months after swapping CEOs, Kinross Gold Corporation (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) has announced its chief financial officer, Paul Barry, is leaving the company “to pursue other interests.”

Canada’s third main gold miner added that Barry, who joined the company in March 2011, would remain in his role until a replacement has been found.

Kinross appointed J. Paul Rollinson as CEO in August, replacing Tye Burt, aiming to improve capital efficiency, reduce costs and increase margins.

As the company announced today’s management change, equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Kinross from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued to investors.

Other analysts have been watching the Canadian gold miner very closely. The Deutsche Bank restated last week a “buy” rating on Kinross’ shares in a research note to investors.

The same day, RBC Capital’s analysts upgraded shares of Kinross Gold from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note to investors.

Previously, TD Securities upgraded the company’s shares from a “speculative buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note to investors issued in late September.

Shares of Kinross Gold closed at $10.42 yesterday, with a 52 week range of $7.11-$15.08.

Image: Girl waves goodbye to her friends at the resettlement estate as she sets out for Silvermine Bay Holiday Camp. From The National Archives UK.