Investors Buy Large Volume of Put Options on Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 28,210 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 942% compared to the typical volume of 2,706 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Glj Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.74 price target on shares of Cameco in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Cameco in a research report on Monday, November 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Cameco from $95.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.68.

Cameco Price Performance

Shares of Cameco stock opened at $107.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.06 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $91.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Cameco has a 1-year low of $35.00 and a 1-year high of $114.45.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $313.74 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $531.72 million. Cameco had a net margin of 15.24% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The business’s revenue was down 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.01) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cameco Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCJ. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cameco by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,801,142 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,493,978,000 after acquiring an additional 235,613 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 0.8% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,503,924 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,133,147,000 after purchasing an additional 106,872 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Cameco by 0.7% during 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 during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in shares of Cameco by 41.4% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 2,071,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Cameco by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,443,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,061 shares during the last quarter. 70.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cameco Company Profile

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.