Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Down 3.4% – What’s Next?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) traded down 3.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $49.78 and last traded at $49.81. 1,576,805 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 3,333,627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities 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 an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Cameco Trading Down 4.2 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 258.96 and a beta of 0.95.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. Cameco’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Cameco Co. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $0.118 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This is a boost from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a yield of 0.22%. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Cameco during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. Capital Market Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Cameco by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 19,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Cameco by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 22,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,172,000 after buying an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Cameco by 1,138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 267,431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,774,000 after buying an additional 245,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dantai Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Cameco by 44.2% during the third quarter. Dantai Capital Ltd now owns 57,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,735,000 after buying an additional 17,560 shares during the last quarter. 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.