Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 0.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) traded up 0.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $52.87 and last traded at $52.68. 531,116 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average session volume of 4,378,940 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cameco currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Up 1.2 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.26. The firm has a market cap of $23.09 billion, a PE ratio of 279.23 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88.

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

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCJ. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Cameco by 1,138.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 267,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,774,000 after buying an additional 245,831 shares in the last quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of Cameco by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 57,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 17,560 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Cameco by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 128,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,120,000 after purchasing an additional 13,901 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 9.2% during the third 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. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Cameco in the third quarter worth $38,000. 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.