Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Up 0.6% – Time to Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO)’s share price traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $53.02 and last traded at $52.47. 1,092,546 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 2,338,018 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.16.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 276.59 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $54.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.26.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Cameco Co. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.118 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco’s payout ratio is presently 57.89%.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cameco by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 22,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 1,138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 267,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,774,000 after acquiring an additional 245,831 shares in the last quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd raised its position in Cameco by 44.2% during the third quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 57,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 17,560 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Cameco by 12.2% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 128,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,120,000 after purchasing an additional 13,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cameco Company Profile

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services.