Investors Purchase High Volume of Cameco Call Options (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders acquired 384,705 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,490% compared to the average daily volume of 24,198 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cameco currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Performance

NYSE:CCJ opened at $49.43 on Friday. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.33. The stock has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 260.17 and a beta of 0.95. Cameco has a twelve month low of $35.43 and a twelve month high of $62.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Cameco will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.118 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. Cameco’s payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCJ. Dantai Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 57,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,735,000 after acquiring an additional 17,560 shares in the last quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Cameco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cameco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $445,000. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cameco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,305,000. Finally, Telemark Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. 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.