Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 1.6% Higher – Here’s Why

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares traded up 1.6% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.79 and last traded at $52.20. 1,380,004 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 4,334,421 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cameco has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Cameco Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 279.59 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $54.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) EPS 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 return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The company’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cameco Co. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a $0.118 dividend. This is a boost from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCJ. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in Cameco by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 77,053 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 7,547 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in Cameco in the 2nd quarter worth $306,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Cameco by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,669,223 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $82,110,000 after acquiring an additional 252,747 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in Cameco by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 8,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 2,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 7.1% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,356 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.