Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Stock Price Down 5.1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO) dropped 5.1% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $79.90 and last traded at $80.24. Approximately 370,701 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 982,836 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.53.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on AUGO shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aura Minerals from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Santander lowered Aura Minerals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.43.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 23.18% and a return on equity of 103.62%. The business had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Aura Minerals’s payout ratio is 81.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mauad Bruno Sousa sold 280,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.67, for a total value of $22,867,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 168,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,783,037.55. This represents a 62.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Luvizotto Glauber Rosa sold 64,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $5,189,982.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 224,515 shares in the company, valued at $18,006,103. The trade was a 22.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 1,199,722 shares of company stock valued at $98,464,936 in the last quarter.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aura Minerals

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $86,494,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Aura Minerals by 42.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 977,212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,740,000 after purchasing an additional 291,623 shares during the period. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its stake in Aura Minerals by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 877,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,225,000 after purchasing an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Aura Minerals by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,439,000 after purchasing an additional 153,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Aura Minerals during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,378,000.

About Aura Minerals

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.