Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Centerra Gold Inc. has reached a new 52-week high of $9.49 during mid-day trading, reflecting a strong performance with a trading volume of 426,272 shares.
• Wall Street analysts show a positive sentiment towards Centerra Gold, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Moderate Buy," and a consensus price target of $12.83.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.25 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.17.

Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.49 and last traded at $9.49, with a volume of 426272 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CGAU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Centerra Gold from $12.00 to $9.50 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. CIBC reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Centerra Gold in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Centerra Gold from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada downgraded shares of Centerra Gold from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $13.00 to $14.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centerra Gold from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centerra Gold presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $12.83.

Centerra Gold Trading Up 1.3%

The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50 day moving average price is $7.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.10.

Centerra Gold (NYSE:CGAU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.08. Centerra Gold had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 9.12%. The company had revenue of $288.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $319.42 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Centerra Gold Inc. will post 0.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Centerra Gold Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st were paid a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 21st. Centerra Gold's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.61%.

Institutional Trading of Centerra Gold

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 63.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,839 shares during the period. Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 9.7% in the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 3,649,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,241,000 after purchasing an additional 323,860 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 104.4% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 150,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 76,903 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 71.2% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,521,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,152 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Centerra Gold by 12.1% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 138,823 shares of the company's stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 14,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 55.40% of the company's stock.

Centerra Gold Company Profile

Centerra Gold Inc, a gold mining company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties in North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company explores for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits. Its flagship projects are the 100% owned Mount Milligan gold-copper mine located in British Columbia, Canada; and the Öksüt gold mine located in Turkey.