Short Interest in Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) Increases By 5.9%

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) saw a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,530,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the December 15th total of 2,390,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 922,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on Centerra Gold from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Desjardins raised shares of Centerra Gold to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Centerra Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $11.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centerra Gold

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Centerra Gold by 36.5% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,390,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Centerra Gold by 59.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,869,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,794 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 132.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,835,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047,142 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Centerra Gold by 111.3% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,493,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,046,000 after buying an additional 786,688 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Centerra Gold by 94.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,037,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,974,000 after buying an additional 504,636 shares during the period. 55.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centerra Gold Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of CGAU opened at $5.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.90. Centerra Gold has a twelve month low of $4.47 and a twelve month high of $7.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.56.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 8.31%. The firm had revenue of $323.93 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Centerra Gold will post 0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a $0.052 dividend. This is a positive change from Centerra Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.83%.

About Centerra Gold

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey.