Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Stock Price Up 11.5% Following Dividend Announcement

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) traded up 11.5% on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $64.88 and last traded at $64.41. 212,532 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 977,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.79.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Aura Minerals’s payout ratio is presently 288.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research cut Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Stock Up 10.8%

The company has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.55. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.47 and its 200-day moving average is $72.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $335.97 million during the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 117.58% and a net margin of 23.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aura Minerals news, COO Luvizotto Glauber Rosa sold 22,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.27, for a total value of $1,459,894.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 411,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,887,193.26. This trade represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Rodrigo Cardoso Barbosa sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total value of $4,885,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 794,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,716,085.35. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 403,092 shares of company stock worth $30,450,738.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Minerals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the first quarter worth about $50,378,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $17,623,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter worth about $17,483,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in Aura Minerals by 319.9% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 428,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,600,000 after buying an additional 326,403 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Aura Minerals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,963,000.

Aura Minerals Company Profile

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.