Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 4.3% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) were up 4.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $52.59 and last traded at $51.62. Approximately 6,233,489 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 133% from the average daily volume of 2,670,748 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of 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 issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Cameco Price Performance

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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $54.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 271.69 and a beta of 0.95.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Cameco Co. will post 0.47 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.118 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco’s payout ratio is 63.16%.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cameco by 7.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 208,184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,243,000 after acquiring an additional 13,588 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in shares of Cameco by 20.9% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,838 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in Cameco by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 19,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 3,745 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 145.3% in the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 59,821 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,943,000 after acquiring an additional 35,439 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Cameco by 285.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 71,774 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,530,000 after purchasing an additional 53,144 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.