Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Up 5.8% – Should You Buy?

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) shares rose 5.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $64.78 and last traded at $64.6680. 50,830 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 976,733 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.13.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $67.60.

Aura Minerals Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $76.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $71.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.46 billion and a PE ratio of 60.29.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $999.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 7.80% and a return on equity of 111.96%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This is a positive change from Aura Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Aura Minerals’s payout ratio is 288.89%.

Insider Transactions at Aura Minerals

In other Aura Minerals news, Director Mauad Bruno Sousa sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total transaction of $7,748,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 434,965 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,701,088.20. This represents a 18.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Luvizotto Glauber Rosa sold 6,323 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.22, for a total transaction of $412,386.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 434,305 shares in the company, valued at $28,325,372.10. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 301,715 shares of company stock worth $24,033,822 in the last quarter.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Minerals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in Aura Minerals in the third quarter worth about $27,097,000. Citigroup Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,997,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,819,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $782,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,901,000.

Aura Minerals Company Profile

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.