Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) Short Interest Down 7.3% in December

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,520,000 shares, a decline of 7.3% from the December 15th total of 16,750,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 3.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Cameco Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of Cameco stock traded up $2.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $51.62. 6,233,489 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,670,748. The company has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 271.69 and a beta of 0.95. Cameco has a 52 week low of $35.43 and a 52 week high of $62.55. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.24. 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 released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $721.00 million for 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 business’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.24 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cameco will post 0.47 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 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 was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a yield of 0.22%. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 71.5% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Cameco during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Cameco during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Cameco by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 816 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is owned by 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.