Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 2.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares were up 2.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $59.12 and last traded at $58.94. Approximately 1,337,024 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 4,441,935 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Cameco Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 310.23 and a beta of 0.89.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Cameco Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.118 per share. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a yield of 0.22%. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.37%.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CCJ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Cameco by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,911,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $689,306,000 after purchasing an additional 200,871 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,708,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $593,524,000 after purchasing an additional 215,741 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Cameco by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,514,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,210,000 after buying an additional 202,157 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 6.8% during the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 265,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cameco by 4.7% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,915,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,622,000 after purchasing an additional 176,183 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

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.