Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 0.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO)’s stock price was up 0.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $52.75 and last traded at $52.10. Approximately 745,510 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 4,385,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.93.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CCJ. National Bank Financial raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Up 1.7 %

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 $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 277.86 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.31.

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

Cameco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.118 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a yield of 0.22%. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its position in Cameco by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,918 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Cameco by 1.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 17,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $867,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cameco by 39.0% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in Cameco by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,222,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,137,000 after acquiring an additional 125,000 shares during the period. Finally, Dantai Capital Ltd grew its position in Cameco by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 39,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 10,700 shares during the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cameco Company Profile

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.