Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $15.94 and last traded at $15.9510, with a volume of 109734 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CGAU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Centerra Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Centerra Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.17.

Centerra Gold Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 2.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.55 and its 200-day moving average is $10.55.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.11. Centerra Gold had a net margin of 26.35% and a return on equity of 10.47%. The business had revenue of $395.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.74 million. Equities analysts predict that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.20%.

Institutional Trading of Centerra Gold

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 818,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,884,000 after purchasing an additional 164,238 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in Centerra Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,039,000. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Centerra Gold during the second quarter worth approximately $3,484,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 12.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,054,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,211,000 after acquiring an additional 436,175 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the second quarter valued at about $1,196,000. 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.