Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Stock Price Up 2.3% – Should You Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares shot up 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $59.12 and last traded at $58.94. 1,337,024 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 4,441,935 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CCJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. National Bank Financial upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Glj Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $63.73 price target on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Cameco Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.26 and a 200-day moving average of $48.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a PE ratio of 316.49 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) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Cameco’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Cameco Co. will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC bought a new stake in Cameco during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,680,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in Cameco by 15.5% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares during the last quarter. Country Club Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cameco during the third quarter valued at about $2,093,000. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,314,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,892,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Cameco by 48.1% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,584,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $75,691,000 after acquiring an additional 515,046 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently 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.