Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Up 0.4% – Still a Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares shot up 0.4% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $58.75 and last traded at $57.69. 1,708,289 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 4,444,170 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CCJ. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report 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. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. National Bank Financial raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $63.73 price objective on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Cameco Price Performance

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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $51.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 319.83 and a beta of 0.89.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Cameco Co. will post 0.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CCJ. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco in the third quarter valued at $1,680,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 15.5% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,036 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $868,000 after purchasing an additional 2,683 shares during the last quarter. Country Club Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,093,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in 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 worth $75,691,000 after purchasing an additional 515,046 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in Cameco by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,314,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,892,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.