Cameco Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock traders bought 384,705 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,490% compared to the average volume of 24,198 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cameco by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,160,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,672,000 after purchasing an additional 265,196 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position in Cameco by 4.7% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,915,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $192,622,000 after acquiring an additional 176,183 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Cameco by 58.0% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,777,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $181,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386,639 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Cameco by 3.7% in the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,272,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $161,022,000 after acquiring an additional 117,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Cameco by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,634,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $129,540,000 after acquiring an additional 381,176 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cameco Price Performance

NYSE CCJ opened at $52.44 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $55.51 and its 200-day moving average is $49.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of 276.01 and a beta of 0.91. Cameco has a 12-month low of $35.43 and a 12-month high of $62.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released 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 net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $0.118 per share. This represents a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.89%.

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.