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

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 28,210 put options on the company. This is an increase of 942% compared to the average daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Cameco by 71.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cameco in the third quarter worth $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Cameco by 84.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 768 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Cameco in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cameco by 130.6% during the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cameco has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Cameco Price Performance

Shares of CCJ stock traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $49.20. 3,643,245 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,022,140. The firm has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a PE ratio of 258.96 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $54.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.27. Cameco has a 1-year low of $35.43 and a 1-year high of $62.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $646.83 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Cameco will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were issued a dividend of $0.118 per share. This is an increase from Cameco's previous annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.89%.

Cameco Company Profile

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.