Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading Up 0.3% - Still a Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO's stock price shot up 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $52.75 and last traded at $52.10. 745,510 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 4,385,714 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.93.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCJ has been the subject of several recent research reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cameco to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $66.56.

Cameco Trading Up 1.9 %

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $55.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.31. The stock has a market cap of $23.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 278.49 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) 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 firm had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.83 million. Cameco had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Cameco Co. will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were paid a $0.118 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This is a boost from Cameco's previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco's dividend payout ratio is 57.89%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCJ. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Cameco during the 2nd quarter worth about $73,125,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Cameco by 58.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,777,866 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $181,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386,639 shares during the period. M&G PLC acquired a new position in shares of Cameco in the third quarter valued at approximately $66,227,000. Segra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cameco during the third quarter worth approximately $53,013,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its holdings in Cameco by 99.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,680,259 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $80,249,000 after purchasing an additional 839,077 shares during the last quarter. 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.