Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $58.75 and last traded at $57.99, with a volume of 468163 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Cameco Stock Up 5.5 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $50.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 319.83 and a beta of 0.89.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The company had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Cameco Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in Cameco by 172.3% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 817,028 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,021,000 after buying an additional 517,035 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Cameco by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,911,614 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $91,558,000 after acquiring an additional 177,551 shares during the period. Segra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Cameco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,013,000. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in Cameco by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 13,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 3,322 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Cameco by 108,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 31,378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 31,349 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is 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.