Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading Up 3.7% – Time to Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $56.18 and last traded at $55.57. Approximately 1,922,585 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 4,432,047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.59.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on CCJ shares. Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $63.73 price target on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.88, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $50.51 and its 200 day moving average is $48.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a PE ratio of 302.33 and a beta of 0.89.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. Cameco’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cameco Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a $0.118 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.22%. This is a boost from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco’s payout ratio is 47.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Cameco by 172.3% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 817,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,021,000 after buying an additional 517,035 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Cameco by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,911,614 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,558,000 after buying an additional 177,551 shares during the period. Segra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cameco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,013,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Cameco by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Cameco by 108,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 31,378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 31,349 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cameco

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.