Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Up 1.6% – Should You Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was up 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $50.48 and last traded at $49.84. Approximately 793,764 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 3,337,288 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Cameco Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88. The company has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 263.59 and a beta of 0.95.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cameco Co. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a dividend of $0.118 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a yield of 0.22%. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. TrueWealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cameco during the fourth quarter worth $470,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Cameco in the fourth quarter valued at $2,292,000. First Pacific Financial bought a new position in shares of Cameco in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC bought a new position in shares of Cameco in the fourth quarter valued at $154,000. Finally, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Cameco in the fourth quarter valued at $3,227,000. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cameco

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services.