Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Shares of Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $16.94, but opened at $16.11. Centerra Gold shares last traded at $16.9410, with a volume of 190,163 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CGAU. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centerra Gold from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Centerra Gold from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Centerra Gold from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.00.

Centerra Gold Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $18.28 and its 200 day moving average is $14.45. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.83.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $401.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $355.39 million. Centerra Gold had a return on equity of 12.42% and a net margin of 42.18%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centerra Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Centerra Gold’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centerra Gold

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CGAU. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centerra Gold during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Centerra Gold by 1,106.5% in the third quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 2,733 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Centerra Gold by 63.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,839 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Centerra Gold in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in Centerra Gold during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.40% of the company’s stock.

About Centerra Gold

Centerra Gold Inc is a gold mining company incorporated in Canada and headquartered in Toronto. The company specializes in the exploration, development and operation of precious metals properties, with a focus on gold production. Centerra’s portfolio includes the Mount Milligan mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Otjikoto mine in Namibia. Both operations produce gold and copper concentrates and employ modern mining methods and processing facilities to optimize recovery rates and minimize environmental impact.

In addition to its producing assets, Centerra is advancing the development of its Greenstone Gold Project in Ontario, Canada, which, upon completion, is expected to become one of Canada’s largest gold mines.