Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $122.42 and last traded at $122.31, with a volume of 5491944 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cameco from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cameco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Cameco from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Cameco from $160.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cameco currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $121.68.

Cameco Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.24. The company has a market cap of $53.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 144.02 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $531.72 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cameco Corporation will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,801,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,493,978,000 after acquiring an additional 235,613 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Cameco by 0.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,503,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,133,147,000 after purchasing an additional 106,872 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Cameco by 0.7% during the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,973,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,089,080,000 after purchasing an additional 85,762 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in Cameco by 41.4% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,076,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $524,988,000 after purchasing an additional 2,071,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,443,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $456,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

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.