Cameco Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 28,210 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 942% compared to the typical volume of 2,706 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CCJ. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC purchased a new position in Cameco in the third quarter worth $1,680,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Cameco by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $868,000 after buying an additional 2,683 shares during the last quarter. Country Club Bank acquired a new stake in Cameco in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,093,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Cameco by 48.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,584,822 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,691,000 after purchasing an additional 515,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cameco in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cameco Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:CCJ traded down $0.89 on Friday, reaching $52.22. 355,980 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,395,686. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 279.54 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.10 and a 200-day moving average of $48.27. Cameco has a 52-week low of $35.43 and a 52-week high of $58.72.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Cameco will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a $0.118 dividend. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CCJ has been the subject of several research reports. National Bank Financial raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Glj Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $63.73 price target on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $66.56.

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.