Short Interest in Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) Rises By 5.9%

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,530,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the December 15th total of 2,390,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 922,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CGAU has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Centerra Gold from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Desjardins raised shares of Centerra Gold to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy 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 $11.00.

Institutional Trading of Centerra Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CGAU. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 36.5% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,390,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Centerra Gold by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,869,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,690,000 after buying an additional 1,435,794 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 132.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,835,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,345,000 after buying an additional 1,047,142 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Centerra Gold by 111.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,493,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,046,000 after buying an additional 786,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 94.6% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,037,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,974,000 after acquiring an additional 504,636 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Centerra Gold Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of CGAU opened at $5.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $5.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.56. Centerra Gold has a twelve month low of $4.47 and a twelve month high of $7.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $323.93 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Centerra Gold will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.052 per share. This represents a $0.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. This is a boost from Centerra Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. Centerra Gold’s payout ratio is presently 45.83%.

About Centerra Gold

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey.