Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Trading Up 4.6% – Still a Buy?

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) traded up 4.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $6.48 and last traded at $6.38. 140,891 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 779,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Desjardins lowered shares of Centerra Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Centerra Gold from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Cormark cut shares of Centerra Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Centerra Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centerra Gold has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $11.00.

Centerra Gold Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $6.13 and a 200-day moving average of $6.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.92.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $302.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.92 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.40%. This is an increase from Centerra Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.78%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centerra Gold

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. increased its stake in Centerra Gold by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 8,723,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,017,756 shares during the period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 168.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,628,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650,160 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Centerra Gold by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,869,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,690,000 after buying an additional 1,435,794 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Centerra Gold by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,808,773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,028,000 after buying an additional 1,126,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc boosted its position in Centerra Gold by 43.2% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 3,038,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,283,000 after buying an additional 916,255 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centerra Gold Company Profile

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey.