Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading Down 2.8% – Time to Sell?

Shares of Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) traded down 2.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $52.81 and last traded at $52.90. 1,420,767 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 4,401,693 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank cut their target price on 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 reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $63.73 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Down 3.0 %

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 company’s 50 day moving average is $48.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.23. The company has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 280.07 and a beta of 0.89.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cameco Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s payout ratio is currently 47.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Cameco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Cameco by 71.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Cameco by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Cameco by 130.6% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Cameco by 68.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Cameco Company Profile

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.