Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $15.44 and last traded at $15.4250, with a volume of 290643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Centerra Gold from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Cormark upgraded shares of Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Centerra Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $14.17.

Centerra Gold Trading Down 1.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.72.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.11. Centerra Gold had a net margin of 26.35% and a return on equity of 10.47%. The company had revenue of $395.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.74 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 13th. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Centerra Gold’s payout ratio is presently 12.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centerra Gold

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 57.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 13,344,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,853,494 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold in the third quarter worth $23,106,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centerra Gold by 828.0% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,372,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,435,000 after buying an additional 2,116,991 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Centerra Gold by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,494,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,027,000 after buying an additional 1,761,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. raised its holdings in Centerra Gold by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. now owns 6,678,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,537,692 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

Centerra Gold Company Profile

Centerra Gold Inc is a gold mining company incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Toronto. The company specializes in the exploration, development and operation of precious metals properties, with a focus on gold production. Centerra’s portfolio includes the Mount Milligan mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Otjikoto mine in Namibia. Both operations produce gold and copper concentrates and employ modern mining methods and processing facilities to optimize recovery rates and minimize environmental impact.

In addition to its producing assets, Centerra is advancing the development of its Greenstone Gold Project in Ontario, Canada, which, upon completion, is expected to become one of Canada’s largest gold mines.