Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $58.75 and last traded at $57.99, with a volume of 468163 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Glj Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $63.73 price target on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cameco presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Cameco Trading Up 5.5 %

The firm has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 319.83 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.54.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The company had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Cameco Co. will post 0.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.118 per share. This represents a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is 47.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cameco by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,911,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $689,306,000 after purchasing an additional 200,871 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Cameco by 103.3% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 6,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Cameco by 45.1% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 493,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,391,000 after acquiring an additional 153,512 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Cameco during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. bought a new stake in Cameco during the 1st quarter valued at about $371,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

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.