Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Down 4.1% – Time to Sell?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO)’s share price was down 4.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $51.55 and last traded at $51.79. Approximately 1,573,311 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 4,387,771 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CCJ shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. National Bank Financial upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $63.73 target price on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cameco presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Cameco Price Performance

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 company has a market cap of $22.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 122.09 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.05.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.14). Cameco had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $598.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $756.00 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. Cameco’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cameco Co. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Cameco by 10.7% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,655,676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $71,722,000 after buying an additional 160,113 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Cameco by 43.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cameco by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 72,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,140,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of Cameco by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 6,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas bought a new stake in shares of Cameco during the 1st quarter valued at about $93,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.