Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Trading 2.3% Higher - Still a Buy?

Shares of Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO rose 2.3% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $50.28 and last traded at $49.91. Approximately 641,142 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 3,448,125 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.80.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Cameco Trading Up 0.6 %

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 cap of $21.36 billion, a PE ratio of 258.33 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.23.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cameco Co. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.22%. This is a positive change from Cameco's previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CCJ. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco during the second quarter worth approximately $440,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Cameco by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 29,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 5,168 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Cameco by 120.2% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 274,826 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,373,000 after purchasing an additional 150,005 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Cameco by 7.0% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 208,184 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,243,000 after purchasing an additional 13,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 8.4% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 24,150 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company's stock.

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.