Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 28,210 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 942% compared to the average volume of 2,706 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCJ. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 71.5% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new stake in Cameco in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Cameco during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cameco by 130.6% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCJ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 note on Friday, October 4th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cameco has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Performance

Shares of Cameco stock opened at $52.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a PE ratio of 276.28 and a beta of 0.91. Cameco has a 12 month low of $35.43 and a 12 month high of $62.55. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.27.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.83 million. Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. Cameco’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a dividend of $0.118 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a dividend 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 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.