Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday. The stock had previously closed at $83.57, but opened at $78.88. Aura Minerals shares last traded at $79.6220, with a volume of 110,501 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AUGO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Santander lowered shares of Aura Minerals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Bank of America cut their target price on Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Aura Minerals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Aura Minerals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.95.

Aura Minerals Trading Down 4.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.42. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51 and a beta of 0.28.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 23.18% and a return on equity of 103.62%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.45 EPS for the current year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. This is a decrease from Aura Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Aura Minerals’s payout ratio is currently 81.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mauad Sousa sold 280,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.67, for a total value of $22,867,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 168,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,783,037.55. This represents a 62.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Glauber Luvizotto sold 64,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $5,189,982.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 224,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,006,103. This trade represents a 22.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders acquired 263,011 shares of company stock worth $22,662,070 and sold 1,647,075 shares worth $138,275,074.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Minerals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Triumph Capital Management lifted its holdings in Aura Minerals by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP boosted its position in Aura Minerals by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 8,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $669,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Aura Minerals by 58.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 6,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 2,564 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the fourth quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the first quarter worth about $245,000.

About Aura Minerals

Aura Minerals Inc is a mining company focused on the exploration, development, and production of precious and base metals. Its operations primarily produce gold, with copper and silver recovered as additional products from certain deposits. The company sells its output in the form of gold doré and metal concentrates.

Aura’s operating portfolio includes the Almas and Apoena gold operations in Brazil, the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico, and the San Andrés gold mine in Honduras.