Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 498,981 Shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU - Free Report) by 41.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 713,252 shares of the company's stock after selling 498,981 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Centerra Gold worth $5,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CGAU. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the second quarter valued at about $6,772,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $154,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 267,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,796,000 after buying an additional 18,359 shares during the last quarter. CM Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 20.0% in the second quarter. CM Management LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,016,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Centerra Gold by 0.7% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 587,062 shares of the company's stock worth $3,947,000 after buying an additional 4,356 shares during the last quarter. 55.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centerra Gold Price Performance

Centerra Gold stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.62. 236,468 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 696,038. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $6.70. Centerra Gold Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $4.47 and a fifty-two week high of $7.82. The stock has a market cap of $1.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.89.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 8.31%. The company had revenue of $323.93 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.052 per share. This represents a $0.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 13th. This is a boost from Centerra Gold's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. Centerra Gold's payout ratio is currently 41.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Desjardins upgraded shares of Centerra Gold to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centerra Gold has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.00.

Centerra Gold Profile

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey.