Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Down 2.2% – Here’s Why

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares were down 2.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $53.15 and last traded at $53.58. Approximately 897,331 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 2,896,943 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.56.

Cameco Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 270.38 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.26.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The business’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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cameco Co. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new position in Cameco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $206,000. Capital Market Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 19,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its position in Cameco by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 22,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Cameco by 1,138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 267,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,774,000 after purchasing an additional 245,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dantai Capital Ltd boosted its stake in Cameco by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 57,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,735,000 after purchasing an additional 17,560 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is 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.