Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $87.39, but opened at $81.00. Aura Minerals shares last traded at $85.1340, with a volume of 225,764 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AUGO. Wall Street Zen cut Aura Minerals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Aura Minerals in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Aura Minerals in a research report on Friday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Aura Minerals from $46.60 to $52.80 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $67.60.

Aura Minerals Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $7.32 billion and a P/E ratio of -83.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $73.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.82.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a negative net margin of 8.61% and a positive return on equity of 94.81%. The company had revenue of $321.66 million for the quarter.

Aura Minerals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Aura Minerals’s payout ratio is -251.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Rodrigo Cardoso Barbosa sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.75, for a total value of $308,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 854,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,780,503.75. This trade represents a 0.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Institutional Trading of Aura Minerals

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AUGO. Citigroup Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,997,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in Aura Minerals in the third quarter worth $27,097,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the third quarter worth $1,819,000. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Aura Minerals by 194.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 17,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 11,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the third quarter valued at $16,901,000.

Aura Minerals Company Profile

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.