Virtus Advisers LLC Purchases New Shares in Centerra Gold Inc. $CGAU

Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 241,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,170,000. Centerra Gold accounts for about 2.0% of Virtus Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in Centerra Gold by 57.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,344,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,853,494 shares in the last quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. Donald Smith & CO. Inc. now owns 14,158,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,452,000 after buying an additional 2,535,492 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $35,991,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Centerra Gold by 828.0% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,372,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,435,000 after buying an additional 2,116,991 shares during the period. Finally, Verbena Value LP bought a new position in shares of Centerra Gold in the 4th quarter worth about $23,153,000. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CGAU. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Centerra Gold from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Centerra Gold from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centerra Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $17.50.

Centerra Gold Price Performance

CGAU opened at $23.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 7.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $17.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.86. Centerra Gold Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.19 and a 1 year high of $23.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.49.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $442.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $394.27 million. Centerra Gold had a net margin of 36.92% and a return on equity of 15.35%. Sell-side analysts predict that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.39%.

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.