Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Up 3% – Still a Buy?

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO)’s stock price traded up 3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $121.54 and last traded at $120.2180. 3,125,794 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 3,872,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $131.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Cameco from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their target price on Cameco to $202.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $147.00 price target on shares of Cameco in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.13.

Cameco Stock Up 3.0%

The company has a current ratio of 3.08, a quick ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 111.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.46.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.05. Cameco had a net margin of 18.38% and a return on equity of 11.05%. The business had revenue of $607.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $598.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Cameco Corporation will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CCJ. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cameco by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,059,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,653,639,000 after acquiring an additional 258,193 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Cameco by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,545,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,240,047,000 after purchasing an additional 41,430 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Cameco by 0.7% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,973,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,089,080,000 after purchasing an additional 85,762 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Cameco by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 6,292,995 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $575,771,000 after purchasing an additional 849,188 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,978,333 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $455,468,000 after buying an additional 323,693 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

About Cameco

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.