Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Cameco Co. (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO has earned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.53.

CCJ has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cameco in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Desjardins initiated coverage on Cameco in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Cameco in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Glj Research lifted their price target on Cameco from $62.76 to $75.68 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th.

Cameco Price Performance

Cameco stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $59.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,310,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,232,438. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.10 billion, a PE ratio of 214.11 and a beta of 0.89. Cameco has a fifty-two week low of $35.00 and a fifty-two week high of $62.55. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $46.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 2.88.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ - Get Free Report) TSE: CCO last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $549.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $890.07 million. Cameco had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 4.34%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cameco will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cameco

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Cameco by 39.3% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 14,048,244 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $578,226,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,837 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cameco during the fourth quarter worth about $188,595,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cameco by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 22,639,647 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,163,942,000 after buying an additional 1,811,876 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Cameco by 215.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 2,031,332 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $83,636,000 after buying an additional 1,387,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Temasek Holdings Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Cameco during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,513,000. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.