Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Stock Price Up 0.3% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.75 and last traded at $52.10. 745,510 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 4,385,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $55.51 and its 200-day moving average is $49.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.82 billion, a PE ratio of 276.01 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The business had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cameco Co. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.118 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CCJ. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cameco by 6.8% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,160,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $204,672,000 after acquiring an additional 265,196 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Cameco by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,915,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $192,622,000 after acquiring an additional 176,183 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Cameco by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,777,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $181,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386,639 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 3.7% during the second quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,272,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $161,022,000 after purchasing an additional 117,722 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Cameco by 16.9% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,634,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $129,540,000 after purchasing an additional 381,176 shares during the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.