Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday.

AUGO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Zacks Research downgraded Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Aura Minerals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Stock Up 2.9%

NASDAQ:AUGO opened at $76.25 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Aura Minerals has a one year low of $25.12 and a one year high of $110.32. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion and a PE ratio of 21.54.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 23.18% and a return on equity of 103.62%. The firm had revenue of $335.97 million during the quarter. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aura Minerals will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Aura Minerals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Minerals

In other news, COO Luvizotto Glauber Rosa sold 19,010 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total transaction of $1,240,022.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 390,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,480,664.44. This represents a 4.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Santos Cardoso Joao Kleber Dos sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.03, for a total value of $700,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 108,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,571,013.33. This represents a 8.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 259,708 shares of company stock valued at $18,498,252.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new position in Aura Minerals during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Aura Minerals by 307.7% in the fourth quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Virtus Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aura Minerals by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the third quarter worth about $37,000.

About Aura Minerals

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.