Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading Down 1.7% – Time to Sell?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO)’s stock price was down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $42.38 and last traded at $42.62. Approximately 555,534 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,081,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CCJ shares. StockNews.com downgraded Cameco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Cameco in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Glj Research increased their price target on Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Stifel Canada raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cameco currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $73.64.

Cameco Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.71 and a beta of 1.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $47.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. Cameco had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 5.39%. The company had revenue of $845.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Cameco Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCJ. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Cameco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,595,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,639,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,163,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,876 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 120.2% during the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,245,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,966 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,088,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $518,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,336 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,393,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

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.