Investors Purchase Large Volume of Cameco Call Options (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 384,705 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,490% compared to the average volume of 24,198 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Cameco from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. National Bank Financial raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Glj Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $63.73 price target on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Cameco from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.56.

Cameco Price Performance

Shares of CCJ opened at $60.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a PE ratio of 319.83 and a beta of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $50.86 and its 200-day moving average is $48.54. Cameco has a fifty-two week low of $35.43 and a fifty-two week high of $60.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last issued 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 net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 3.33%. The company had revenue of $721.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.24 earnings per share. Cameco’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Cameco will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.118 per share. This represents a yield of 0.22%. This is an increase from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 27th. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Cameco during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in shares of Cameco by 71.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Pingora Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Cameco by 84.2% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 768 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Cameco by 130.6% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 971 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the period. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.