Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) Stake Lowered by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Cameco were worth $1,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Cameco by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,639,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,163,942,000 after buying an additional 1,811,876 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,784,270 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $862,997,000 after acquiring an additional 270,102 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Cameco by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,088,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $518,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,336 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cameco during the 4th quarter valued at about $188,595,000. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in Cameco by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,393,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $174,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,193,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Cameco Stock Up 2.3%

CCJ opened at $53.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88. The company has a market capitalization of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of 189.79 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $43.32 and its 200-day moving average is $48.93. Cameco Co. has a one year low of $35.00 and a one year high of $62.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.07). Cameco had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 5.39%. The firm had revenue of $549.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $890.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 earnings per share. Cameco’s revenue was up 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Cameco Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on CCJ shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Cameco in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised Cameco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Cameco in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Stifel Canada raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Desjardins initiated coverage on shares of Cameco in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.03.

About Cameco

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.