Heartland Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU)

Heartland Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,255,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,400 shares during the quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned 1.07% of Centerra Gold worth $12,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 168.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,628,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,377,000 after acquiring an additional 1,650,160 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Centerra Gold by 59.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,869,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,435,794 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Centerra Gold by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,291,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,733,000 after buying an additional 836,777 shares during the period. U S Global Investors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,667,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Centerra Gold during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,454,000. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centerra Gold Stock Performance

NYSE:CGAU opened at $6.42 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $6.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.34. The firm has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.92. Centerra Gold Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $5.46 and a fifty-two week high of $7.82.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 6.62%. The firm had revenue of $302.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.92 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current year.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This is a boost from Centerra Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.36%. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CGAU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Desjardins lowered shares of Centerra Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. National Bank Financial raised shares of Centerra Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Cormark downgraded Centerra Gold from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Centerra Gold from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centerra Gold presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $11.00.

About Centerra Gold

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey.