Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) Short Interest Down 26.6% in March

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, a drop of 26.6% from the February 28th total of 3,610,000 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 952,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Centerra Gold Price Performance

NYSE CGAU opened at $6.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $6.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $6.34. Centerra Gold has a 12 month low of $5.46 and a 12 month high of $7.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63 and a beta of 0.92.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $302.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $316.92 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Centerra Gold will post 0.59 EPS for the current year.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Centerra Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio is 52.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Centerra Gold by 145.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 419,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,015,000 after buying an additional 249,004 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centerra Gold by 378.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 454,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,152,000 after purchasing an additional 359,905 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Centerra Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $4,454,000. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Centerra Gold during the 3rd quarter worth about $127,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in Centerra Gold by 284.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 55,444 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Centerra Gold from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Thursday, March 20th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Centerra Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Desjardins cut shares of Centerra Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cormark lowered shares of Centerra Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centerra Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.00.

Centerra Gold Company Profile

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey.