Cameco Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 942% compared to the average daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Cameco by 71.5% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 84.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Cameco during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Cameco by 39.0% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.21% of the company’s stock.

Cameco Stock Performance

Shares of Cameco stock opened at $54.27 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 286.70 and a beta of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.27 and its 200-day moving average is $49.37. Cameco has a one year low of $35.43 and a one year high of $62.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The firm had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $646.83 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Cameco will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.118 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This is a boost from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a yield of 0.22%. Cameco’s payout ratio is 63.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CCJ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.56.

Cameco Company Profile

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.