Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.03 EPS

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 15.28% and a net margin of 40.32%.The company had revenue of $484.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $373.47 million.

Centerra Gold Trading Down 0.8%

CGAU traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $17.28. 1,532,271 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,084,199. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $15.87. Centerra Gold has a 52-week low of $6.30 and a 52-week high of $21.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 5.57, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.90.

Centerra Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 21st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Centerra Gold’s payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGAU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Centerra Gold from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen cut Centerra Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Centerra Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centerra Gold

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGAU. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Centerra Gold by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,344,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,853,494 shares during the period. FIL Ltd purchased a new position in Centerra Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $35,991,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centerra Gold by 828.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,372,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,991 shares during the period. Verbena Value LP purchased a new position in Centerra Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $23,153,000. Finally, Hatch Cove Capital LLC purchased a new position in Centerra Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $18,001,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

About Centerra Gold

Centerra Gold Inc is a gold mining company incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Toronto. The company specializes in the exploration, development and operation of precious metals properties, with a focus on gold production. Centerra’s portfolio includes the Mount Milligan mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Otjikoto mine in Namibia. Both operations produce gold and copper concentrates and employ modern mining methods and processing facilities to optimize recovery rates and minimize environmental impact.

In addition to its producing assets, Centerra is advancing the development of its Greenstone Gold Project in Ontario, Canada, which, upon completion, is expected to become one of Canada’s largest gold mines.