Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Up 5.8% – Here’s What Happened

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) rose 5.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $64.78 and last traded at $64.6680. Approximately 50,830 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 976,733 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.13.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AUGO shares. Zacks Research lowered Aura Minerals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. 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 “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aura Minerals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.60.

Aura Minerals Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion and a P/E ratio of 60.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.01.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $999.00 EPS for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 111.96%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. This is a boost from Aura Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Aura Minerals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 288.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aura Minerals news, COO Luvizotto Glauber Rosa sold 6,323 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total value of $412,386.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 434,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,325,372.10. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mauad Bruno Sousa bought 2,800 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $181,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 437,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,432,836.75. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 301,715 shares of company stock valued at $24,033,822 in the last quarter.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Aura Minerals during the third quarter worth approximately $60,284,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,988,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,097,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Aura Minerals in the first quarter worth $50,378,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Aura Minerals in the third quarter worth $17,623,000.

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.