Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, a decline of 26.6% from the February 28th total of 3,610,000 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 952,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.8 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 145.6% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 419,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 249,004 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Centerra Gold by 378.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 454,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,152,000 after buying an additional 359,905 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the 3rd quarter worth $4,454,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the third quarter valued at about $127,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 284.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 55,444 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CGAU. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Centerra Gold from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. National Bank Financial raised Centerra Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Cormark downgraded shares of Centerra Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Desjardins cut shares of Centerra Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centerra Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Centerra Gold Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE CGAU opened at $6.35 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.34. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.92. Centerra Gold has a twelve month low of $5.46 and a twelve month high of $7.82.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.20 by ($0.03). Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 6.62%. The business had revenue of $302.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.92 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Centerra Gold will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is an increase from Centerra Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.78%.

About Centerra Gold

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey.