Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on CGAU. Cormark raised shares of Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Centerra Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centerra Gold has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $14.17.

Centerra Gold Stock Performance

Shares of CGAU stock opened at $14.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.89 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $12.92 and a 200-day moving average of $10.05. Centerra Gold has a one year low of $5.41 and a one year high of $15.47. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.87.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $395.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.74 million. Centerra Gold had a net margin of 26.35% and a return on equity of 10.47%. Equities research analysts forecast that Centerra Gold will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 13th were issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centerra Gold

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Centerra Gold by 57.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,344,727 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,739,000 after buying an additional 4,853,494 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Centerra Gold during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $23,106,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Centerra Gold by 828.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,372,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,116,991 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Centerra Gold by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,494,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,761,904 shares during the period. Finally, Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. lifted its position in Centerra Gold by 29.9% in the second quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 6,678,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,537,692 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

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.