Cameco Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 28,210 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 942% compared to the typical volume of 2,706 put options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,905,617 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $265,835,000 after purchasing an additional 149,815 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Cameco during the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Cameco during the fourth quarter worth $243,000. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. boosted its position in Cameco by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. now owns 17,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,586,000 after purchasing an additional 7,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCIC Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Cameco in the fourth quarter valued at $3,691,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CCJ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Cameco from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Glj Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $99.74 price objective on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Cameco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Cameco in a report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $121.68.

Cameco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CCJ opened at $121.65 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $95.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.90. Cameco has a 1-year low of $35.00 and a 1-year high of $126.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $52.97 billion, a PE ratio of 141.45 and a beta of 1.01.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.17). Cameco had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 15.24%.The firm had revenue of $313.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $531.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cameco will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.12. This represents a yield of 27.0%. Cameco’s payout ratio is 19.77%.

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.