Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 28,210 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 942% compared to the average daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CCJ shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Cameco from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Cameco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Cameco from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $121.68.

Cameco Stock Performance

Shares of CCJ opened at $123.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.94 billion, a PE ratio of 144.02 and a beta of 1.01. Cameco has a 12-month low of $35.00 and a 12-month high of $126.47. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $313.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $531.72 million. Cameco had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The firm’s revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.27 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a dividend yield of 27.0%. This is a boost from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.12. Cameco’s payout ratio is 19.77%.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legacy Bridge LLC grew its position in shares of Cameco by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 11,508 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Cameco by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,938 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC lifted its stake in Cameco by 0.4% in the second quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 30,628 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cameco by 1.2% during the third quarter. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC now owns 10,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.