Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 2.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was up 2.1% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $96.57 and last traded at $95.72. Approximately 3,229,047 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 33% from the average daily volume of 4,818,306 shares. The stock had previously closed at $93.76.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cameco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Glj Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.74 price objective on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cameco in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, CLSA started coverage on shares of Cameco in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $117.25.

Cameco Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $41.68 billion, a PE ratio of 111.30 and a beta of 1.07. 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 simple moving average of $90.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.82.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.72 million. Cameco had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 8.58%. Cameco’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cameco Corporation will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 27.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.12. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.77%.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cameco during the 2nd quarter valued at $341,736,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 39.3% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 14,048,244 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $578,226,000 after acquiring an additional 3,959,837 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Cameco by 116.7% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,622,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $388,068,000 after purchasing an additional 2,489,207 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Cameco by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,076,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $524,988,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,373 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Cameco by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,443,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,061 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.