Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CGAU. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research lowered Centerra Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Centerra Gold from $13.50 to $19.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.00.

Centerra Gold Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CGAU opened at $16.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of 5.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.49. Centerra Gold has a one year low of $5.41 and a one year high of $21.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a current ratio of 2.39.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $401.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $355.39 million. Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 42.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centerra Gold will post 0.59 EPS for the current year.

Centerra Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. Centerra Gold’s payout ratio is 7.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centerra Gold

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CGAU. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Centerra Gold during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its stake in Centerra Gold by 1,106.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,733 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Centerra Gold by 63.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,839 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in Centerra Gold during the 4th quarter valued at about $72,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.