Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 4.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO)’s share price shot up 4.5% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $56.47 and last traded at $55.50. 5,426,098 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average session volume of 4,418,524 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.11.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CCJ. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Glj Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $63.73 price objective on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Cameco Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $49.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.30. The company has a market cap of $23.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 290.28 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Cameco Co. will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be given a dividend of $0.118 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This represents a yield of 0.22%. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s payout ratio is currently 47.37%.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CCJ. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Cameco by 71.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Cameco during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cameco by 84.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 130.6% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cameco by 1,360.0% during the third quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares during the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cameco Company Profile

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.