Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $6.83, but opened at $7.05. Centerra Gold shares last traded at $7.03, with a volume of 602,559 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CGAU has been the topic of a number of research reports. National Bankshares reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Friday, April 4th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Centerra Gold to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.00.

Centerra Gold Stock Down 1.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $6.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $6.25.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.03). Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 6.62%. The company had revenue of $302.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $316.92 million. As a group, analysts expect that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is an increase from Centerra Gold’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. Centerra Gold’s payout ratio is 52.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CGAU. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 145.6% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 419,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,015,000 after purchasing an additional 249,004 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 378.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 454,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,152,000 after buying an additional 359,905 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Centerra Gold during the third quarter valued at about $127,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the fourth quarter valued at about $268,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 284.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 74,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 55,444 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Centerra Gold Company 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.