Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares traded up 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $56.81 and last traded at $56.49. 1,368,007 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 3,853,881 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Cameco Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $24.71 billion, a PE ratio of 298.66 and a beta of 0.95. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $54.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.32.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Cameco’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Cameco Co. 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. Stockholders 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 is presently 63.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 4.7% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,915,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,622,000 after purchasing an additional 176,183 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Cameco by 58.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,777,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $181,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386,639 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Cameco by 19.9% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 2,478,488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $118,386,000 after acquiring an additional 410,711 shares in the last quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. boosted its holdings in Cameco by 7.5% in the third quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,268,132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $108,326,000 after purchasing an additional 159,200 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Cameco by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,175,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $103,968,000 after purchasing an additional 187,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.