Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Stock Price Up 11.5% Following Dividend Announcement

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO)’s share price traded up 11.5% during trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $64.88 and last traded at $64.41. 212,532 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 977,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.79.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Aura Minerals’s payout ratio is currently 288.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AUGO has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Aura Minerals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.47 and its 200 day moving average is $72.63. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.54.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 23.18% and a return on equity of 117.58%. The company had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. Research analysts forecast that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Minerals

In other news, COO Luvizotto Glauber Rosa sold 22,367 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.27, for a total value of $1,459,894.09. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 411,938 shares in the company, valued at $26,887,193.26. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Santos Cardoso Joao Kleber Dos sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.95, for a total transaction of $3,717,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 118,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,316,976.45. This trade represents a 33.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 403,092 shares of company stock worth $30,450,738.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Minerals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUGO. Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new position in Aura Minerals during the fourth quarter worth about $13,108,000. Sagil Capital LLP acquired a new position in Aura Minerals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,864,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Aura Minerals in the 4th quarter valued at $3,892,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the 4th quarter valued at $1,286,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the 1st quarter worth $2,100,000.

Aura Minerals Company Profile

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.