Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading Up 0.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) rose 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $58.75 and last traded at $57.69. Approximately 1,708,289 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 4,444,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Cameco Price Performance

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 company has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a PE ratio of 319.83 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.62.

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 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 company had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cameco Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Cameco by 2.1% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 9,149 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. S.A. Mason LLC increased its holdings in Cameco by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. S.A. Mason LLC now owns 3,655 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cameco by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Silvia Mccoll Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cameco by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC now owns 13,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $654,000 after buying an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Cameco by 39.0% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. 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.