Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 0.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO)’s share price shot up 0.7% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $56.52 and last traded at $56.30. 1,363,765 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 4,440,379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on CCJ shares. 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. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Cameco has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Up 2.2 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.41. 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 has a market cap of $24.87 billion, a PE ratio of 296.33 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). The firm had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Cameco Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCJ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,911,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $689,306,000 after buying an additional 200,871 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Cameco by 1.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,708,235 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $593,524,000 after purchasing an additional 215,741 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Cameco by 3.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,514,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,210,000 after purchasing an additional 202,157 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 6.8% in the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 4,160,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,672,000 after purchasing an additional 265,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 4.7% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 3,915,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $192,622,000 after buying an additional 176,183 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.