Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 28,210 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 942% compared to the average daily volume of 2,706 put options.

Cameco Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of CCJ opened at $52.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.26. Cameco has a twelve month low of $35.43 and a twelve month high of $62.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 276.65 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.39 by ($0.40). Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. The business had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $646.83 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 27th were given a dividend of $0.118 per share. This is a boost from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. This represents a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CCJ has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. National Bank Financial raised Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Cameco currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $66.56.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Cameco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $73,125,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 58.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,777,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $181,382,000 after buying an additional 1,386,639 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC bought a new stake in shares of Cameco during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,227,000. Segra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Cameco in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $53,013,000. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC lifted its position in Cameco by 99.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 1,680,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $80,249,000 after acquiring an additional 839,077 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.