The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 166,736 Shares of Centerra Gold Inc. $CGAU

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 963,470 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 166,736 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Centerra Gold were worth $17,119,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CGAU. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centerra Gold in the first quarter valued at approximately $192,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Centerra Gold during the first quarter worth approximately $97,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Centerra Gold by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,344,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,853,494 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Centerra Gold during the 1st quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centerra Gold by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 767,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,534,000 after acquiring an additional 129,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Centerra Gold Stock Down 6.2%

Shares of NYSE CGAU opened at $17.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.49, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.81. Centerra Gold Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.71 and a 12 month high of $21.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.52.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. Centerra Gold had a net margin of 36.92% and a return on equity of 15.35%. The firm had revenue of $442.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $394.27 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CGAU has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Centerra Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Centerra Gold from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Centerra Gold Company Profile

Centerra Gold Inc is a gold mining company incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Toronto. The company specializes in the exploration, development and operation of precious metals properties, with a focus on gold production. Centerra’s portfolio includes the Mount Milligan mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Otjikoto mine in Namibia. Both operations produce gold and copper concentrates and employ modern mining methods and processing facilities to optimize recovery rates and minimize environmental impact.

In addition to its producing assets, Centerra is advancing the development of its Greenstone Gold Project in Ontario, Canada, which, upon completion, is expected to become one of Canada’s largest gold mines.