Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold”

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on AUGO. Weiss Ratings cut Aura Minerals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Trading Up 13.0%

NASDAQ AUGO opened at $74.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. Aura Minerals has a twelve month low of $25.12 and a twelve month high of $110.32. The company has a market cap of $6.21 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.41 and its 200 day moving average is $72.64.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 103.62% and a net margin of 23.18%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aura Minerals will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Aura Minerals’s payout ratio is 81.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Luvizotto Glauber Rosa sold 19,010 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total value of $1,240,022.30. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 390,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,480,664.44. The trade was a 4.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mauad Bruno Sousa bought 2,800 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $64.95 per share, for a total transaction of $181,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 437,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,432,836.75. The trade was a 0.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 403,092 shares of company stock worth $30,450,738.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AUGO. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Aura Minerals in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Aura Minerals in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Aura Minerals by 307.7% during the fourth quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Aura Minerals during the 3rd quarter worth about $108,000.

About Aura Minerals

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.