Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.32 and last traded at $23.4850, with a volume of 2487563 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Centerra Gold Trading Down 2.0%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.80.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $394.27 million. Centerra Gold had a net margin of 36.92% and a return on equity of 15.35%. On average, research analysts expect that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Centerra Gold Announces Dividend

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 paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 19th. Centerra Gold’s payout ratio is 6.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centerra Gold

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CGAU. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the first quarter valued at about $1,988,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new position in Centerra Gold during the first quarter worth about $1,226,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in Centerra Gold by 14.0% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 869,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,372,000 after buying an additional 106,527 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Centerra Gold in the second quarter valued at about $1,005,000. Finally, Donald Smith & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Centerra Gold in the second quarter valued at about $245,004,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

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.