Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Up 7.5% – Here’s What Happened

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) shares traded up 7.5% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $89.15 and last traded at $88.6950. 73,183 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 988,743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Aura Minerals in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.95.

Aura Minerals Stock Up 9.6%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $335.97 million during the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 103.62% and a net margin of 23.18%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is a drop from Aura Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Aura Minerals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aura Minerals news, COO Glauber Luvizotto sold 64,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $5,189,982.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 224,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,006,103. This trade represents a 22.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mauad Sousa sold 280,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 62.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 263,011 shares of company stock worth $22,662,070 and have sold 1,568,065 shares worth $133,318,052.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AUGO. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Aura Minerals by 522.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals in the second quarter worth approximately $10,550,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Aura Minerals by 56.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 13,305 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,000 after purchasing an additional 4,816 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in Aura Minerals in the 2nd quarter valued at $446,000. Finally, Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. lifted its holdings in Aura Minerals by 1,379.1% in the 2nd quarter. Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. now owns 55,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,492,000 after purchasing an additional 51,717 shares in the last quarter.

Aura Minerals Company Profile

Aura Minerals Inc is a mining company focused on the exploration, development and production of gold, copper and other associated minerals. The company operates a portfolio of mines and projects in the Americas and sells the metals produced from its operations to commercial customers.

Aura’s assets include the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico, the San Andrés gold mine in Honduras, and gold operations in Brazil, including the Almas and Apoena complexes. The company also has development and exploration projects intended to support future production and extend the operating life of its portfolio.

Headquartered in the Americas and listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol AUGO, Aura Minerals has built its business through the acquisition, development and operation of precious- and base-metal assets.