Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Shares Up 2.2% – Here’s Why

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) shares shot up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $44.28 and last traded at $44.06. 809,442 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 4,073,831 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Glj Research boosted their price target on shares of Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cameco from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Stifel Canada upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Cameco in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $73.64.

Cameco Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $19.33 billion, a PE ratio of 158.58 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.99.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26. The company had revenue of $845.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Cameco had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 4.34%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Cameco Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Cameco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,595,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cameco by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,639,647 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,163,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811,876 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cameco by 120.2% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 2,245,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $115,398,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,966 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Cameco by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,088,407 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $518,443,000 after buying an additional 1,196,336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in Cameco by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 3,393,233 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $174,433,000 after buying an additional 1,193,266 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

About Cameco

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.