Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $20.47 and last traded at $20.3640, with a volume of 301561 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $20.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CGAU shares. Zacks Research upgraded Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Cormark upgraded Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Centerra Gold from $13.50 to $19.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Centerra Gold Trading Up 2.3%

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $17.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.88.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $401.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $355.39 million. Centerra Gold had a net margin of 42.18% and a return on equity of 12.42%. Equities analysts forecast that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. Centerra Gold’s payout ratio is 7.04%.

Institutional Trading of Centerra Gold

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CGAU. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. lifted its position in Centerra Gold by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 14,158,116 shares of the company’s stock worth $203,452,000 after buying an additional 2,535,492 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,344,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,853,494 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 26.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,494,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,027,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,904 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 8,274,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,058,000 after acquiring an additional 549,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. boosted its position in Centerra Gold by 4.1% during the third quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 6,954,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,621,000 after purchasing an additional 275,510 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centerra Gold Company Profile

Centerra Gold Inc is a gold mining company incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Toronto. The company specializes in the exploration, development and operation of precious metals properties, with a focus on gold production. Centerra’s portfolio includes the Mount Milligan mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Otjikoto mine in Namibia. Both operations produce gold and copper concentrates and employ modern mining methods and processing facilities to optimize recovery rates and minimize environmental impact.

In addition to its producing assets, Centerra is advancing the development of its Greenstone Gold Project in Ontario, Canada, which, upon completion, is expected to become one of Canada’s largest gold mines.