Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $88.11, but opened at $83.88. Aura Minerals shares last traded at $84.3750, with a volume of 79,852 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AUGO. Santander cut Aura Minerals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Stock Down 3.2%

The company has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.10 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $68.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.66.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 23.18% and a return on equity of 103.62%. The company had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. Equities research analysts predict that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Aura Minerals’s dividend payout ratio is 81.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Santos Cardoso Joao Kleber Dos sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.95, for a total value of $3,717,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 118,111 shares in the company, valued at $7,316,976.45. This trade represents a 33.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mauad Sousa sold 280,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.67, for a total transaction of $22,867,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 168,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,783,037.55. This represents a 62.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 263,011 shares of company stock valued at $22,662,070 and have sold 1,327,222 shares valued at $108,817,936.

Institutional Trading of Aura Minerals

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Triumph Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Aura Minerals by 32.4% during the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in Aura Minerals by 307.7% in the fourth quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Virtus Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Aura Minerals by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC now owns 2,635 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Aura Minerals during the third quarter worth $37,000.

About Aura Minerals

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.