Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Up 5.6% – What’s Next?

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO)’s share price was up 5.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $122.42 and last traded at $122.31. Approximately 5,446,736 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 19% from the average daily volume of 4,563,497 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CCJ has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Cameco from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Cameco from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.74 price target on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $121.68.

Cameco Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $53.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.22 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.66.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $313.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.72 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 15.24%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.01) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Cameco Corporation will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a dividend yield of 27.0%. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.12. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.77%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,133,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $158,141,000 after buying an additional 77,081 shares during the period. Abbington Investment Group bought a new position in Cameco in the 3rd quarter worth $6,506,000. Nwam LLC lifted its position in Cameco by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 81,129 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,304,000 after acquiring an additional 8,519 shares during the last quarter. Total Clarity Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cameco during the second quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Kercheville Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cameco by 128.2% in the second quarter. Kercheville Advisors LLC now owns 38,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,831,000 after purchasing an additional 21,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

About Cameco

Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) is a leading producer of uranium and a supplier to the global nuclear power industry. Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the company is engaged in the exploration, mining, milling and sale of uranium concentrate, commonly known as yellowcake, which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. Cameco also participates in services and activities that support the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, including processing and marketing of uranium to utilities under long?term and spot contracts.

The company’s operations have historically centered in Canada and the United States, where it operates and develops uranium mining and processing properties.