Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 5.4% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares rose 5.4% during trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $54.08 and last traded at $53.96. Approximately 1,927,413 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average daily volume of 4,396,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.21.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.118 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This is a boost from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CCJ. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $63.73 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Down 1.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 3.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.18. The company has a market cap of $22.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 122.19 and a beta of 0.89.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results 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). Cameco had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.24 EPS. Cameco’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cameco Co. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Cameco by 430.8% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 317,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $15,186,000 after buying an additional 257,710 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 13.4% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 1,113,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $53,171,000 after buying an additional 131,726 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cameco by 28.9% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 857,849 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,971,000 after acquiring an additional 192,401 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Cameco by 15.0% in the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,649 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased 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 valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

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.