Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Up 3.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) traded up 3.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $56.25 and last traded at $55.64. 3,003,437 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 3,722,396 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.56.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Cameco Trading Down 1.4 %

The firm has a market cap of $24.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 295.24 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $54.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). The business had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.83 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. Cameco’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cameco Co. will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $0.118 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.22%. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 811,112 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,683,000 after acquiring an additional 44,910 shares during the period. Chicago Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cameco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $921,000. SkyOak Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cameco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 42,086 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,160,000 after acquiring an additional 955 shares during the period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 35.2% during the fourth quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 39,329 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 10,231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

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.