Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Aura Minerals shares jumped 7.4%, opening at $83.00 after closing at $79.04, following a major insider purchase.
• Director Mauad Bruno Sousa bought 252,000 shares for approximately $21.8 million, increasing his direct ownership by 152.4% to 417,356 shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with a consensus “Hold” rating and a $79.27 target price, while the company reported $2.57 in quarterly EPS and pays a $2.88 annualized dividend yielding about 3.4%.

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $79.04, but opened at $83.00. Aura Minerals shares last traded at $85.1590, with a volume of 86,904 shares changing hands.

Specifically, Director Mauad Bruno Sousa acquired 252,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $86.48 per share, with a total value of $21,792,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 417,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,092,946.88. The trade was a 152.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AUGO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Aura Minerals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Santander cut shares of Aura Minerals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Aura Minerals from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Aura Minerals from $104.50 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aura Minerals has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.27.

Aura Minerals Trading Up 7.4%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.94 and a beta of 0.25. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $66.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.43.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 23.18% and a return on equity of 103.62%. The company had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Aura Minerals's payout ratio is presently 81.36%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Minerals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Aura Minerals in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Aura Minerals in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its position in Aura Minerals by 307.7% during the 4th quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 795 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,000.

Aura Minerals Company Profile

We are an Americas gold and copper production company with a significant portfolio of mining operations. Our mission is to deliver long-term value by unlocking operational efficiencies, responsibly growing our portfolio with a focus on return on invested capital, responsible mining practices and a commitment to sustainability. We operate with a decentralized culture, supported by a lean corporate team that ensures agile and dynamic management and decision-making processes, focused on high operational sustainability compliance standards.

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