Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading Down 7.7% – Should You Sell?

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares dropped 7.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $121.54 and last traded at $123.35. Approximately 7,195,217 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 49% from the average daily volume of 4,830,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.67.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $99.74 target price on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Cameco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Cameco from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $121.68.

Cameco Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.82. The stock has a market cap of $53.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 143.43 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.17). Cameco had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 15.24%.The business had revenue of $313.74 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.72 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.01) EPS. Cameco’s revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cameco Corporation will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.24 dividend. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.12. This represents a dividend yield of 27.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is 19.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cameco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $341,736,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Cameco by 116.7% in the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 4,622,932 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $388,068,000 after buying an additional 2,489,207 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in Cameco by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,076,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $524,988,000 after buying an additional 2,071,373 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Cameco by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,443,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,530,000 after buying an additional 1,644,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new position in shares of Cameco during the third quarter worth $128,370,000. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cameco Company Profile

Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) is a leading producer of uranium and a supplier to the global nuclear power industry. Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the company is engaged in the exploration, mining, milling and sale of uranium concentrate, commonly known as yellowcake, which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. Cameco also participates in services and activities that support the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, including processing and marketing of uranium to utilities under long‑term and spot contracts.

The company’s operations have historically centered in Canada and the United States, where it operates and develops uranium mining and processing properties.