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

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 942% compared to the typical volume of 2,706 put options.

Cameco Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE CCJ opened at $52.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.26. The company 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 has a 52 week low of $35.43 and a 52 week high of $62.55.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The basic materials company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.40). The firm had revenue of $721.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $646.83 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 3.33% and a net margin of 4.15%. Cameco’s revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cameco will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.118 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 27th. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.09. Cameco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.89%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Cameco by 48.1% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 208,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,242,000 after buying an additional 67,637 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Cameco by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 981,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $48,293,000 after acquiring an additional 262,944 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Cameco by 14.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Deuterium Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cameco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $492,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cameco during the second quarter valued at about $1,522,000. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CCJ. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Cameco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.