Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Stock Price Up 1.6% – Here’s Why

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) rose 1.6% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $53.43 and last traded at $52.89. Approximately 1,336,467 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 4,392,717 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.08.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Cameco Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.68 billion, a PE ratio of 275.84 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 3.22 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $48.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $48.20.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. Cameco’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cameco Co. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.118 per share. This represents a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s payout ratio is 57.89%.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Cameco by 78.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $999,000 after purchasing an additional 9,222 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cameco during the third quarter valued at $3,063,000. Telemark Asset Management LLC grew its position in Cameco by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Telemark Asset Management LLC now owns 1,300,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,088,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Cameco by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 902,640 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,169,000 after acquiring an additional 29,617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Cameco by 44.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,151,105 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $102,737,000 after purchasing an additional 664,828 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.