Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Up 9.2% Following Insider Buying Activity

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) shot up 9.2% during trading on Wednesday following insider buying activity. The company traded as high as $82.82 and last traded at $83.2520. Approximately 225,030 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 973,055 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.24.

Specifically, Director Mauad Bruno Sousa acquired 11,000 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $78.93 per share, for a total transaction of $868,230.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 448,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,421,021.45. This trade represents a 2.51% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AUGO shares. Wall Street Zen cut Aura Minerals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Aura Minerals has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Stock Up 9.0%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $62.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion and a PE ratio of 23.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 103.62% and a net margin of 23.18%. Analysts predict that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Aura Minerals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Aura Minerals by 42.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 977,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,740,000 after acquiring an additional 291,623 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $13,108,000. Sagil Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,864,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,286,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Aura Minerals in the 1st quarter valued at $2,100,000.

About Aura Minerals

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.