Investors Buy High Volume of Cameco Call Options (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock traders purchased 384,705 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,490% compared to the average volume of 24,198 call options.

Cameco Trading Down 7.7%

CCJ stock opened at $123.35 on Friday. Cameco has a 1-year low of $35.00 and a 1-year high of $135.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.77 and its 200-day moving average is $89.15. The firm has a market cap of $53.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 143.43 and a beta of 1.01.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.17). Cameco had a return on equity of 8.58% and a net margin of 15.24%.The company had revenue of $313.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $531.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.01) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a yield of 27.0%. This is a positive change from Cameco’s previous annual dividend of $0.12. Cameco’s payout ratio is 19.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cameco

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Cameco by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,059,335 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,653,639,000 after purchasing an additional 258,193 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Cameco by 0.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,503,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,133,147,000 after buying an additional 106,872 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Cameco by 0.7% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,973,799 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,089,080,000 after purchasing an additional 85,762 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 7,076,815 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $524,988,000 after buying an additional 2,071,373 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 43.3% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,443,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644,061 shares in the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CCJ. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Cameco from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Cameco from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cameco presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $121.68.

About Cameco

Cameco Corporation (NYSE: CCJ) is a leading producer of uranium and a supplier to the global nuclear power industry. Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, the company is engaged in the exploration, mining, milling and sale of uranium concentrate, commonly known as yellowcake, which is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. Cameco also participates in services and activities that support the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, including processing and marketing of uranium to utilities under long‑term and spot contracts.

The company’s operations have historically centered in Canada and the United States, where it operates and develops uranium mining and processing properties.