Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Up 7.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Aura Minerals shares rose 7.5% to about $88.70, reaching an intraday high of $89.15, although trading volume was 93% below its average.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately bullish, with four Buy ratings and three Holds; the consensus price target is $86.95, while Scotiabank set a $110 target and Bank of America cut its target to $94.
• The company reduced its quarterly dividend from $0.78 to $0.72 per share, producing a 3.2% yield, while insiders have sold substantially more stock than they purchased over the past 90 days.

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) shares were up 7.5% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $89.15 and last traded at $88.6950. Approximately 73,183 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 988,743 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AUGO shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Aura Minerals from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research raised shares of Aura Minerals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Santander cut Aura Minerals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Aura Minerals in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aura Minerals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.95.

Aura Minerals Stock Up 9.6%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $81.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58 and a beta of 0.48.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 103.62% and a net margin of 23.18%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is a drop from Aura Minerals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Aura Minerals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.36%.

Insider Activity at Aura Minerals

In related news, COO Glauber Luvizotto sold 64,713 shares of Aura Minerals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $5,189,982.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 224,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,006,103. The trade was a 22.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Mauad Sousa sold 280,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.67, for a total value of $22,867,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 168,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,783,037.55. This represents a 62.39% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 263,011 shares of company stock worth $22,662,070 and sold 1,568,065 shares worth $133,318,052.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Minerals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Aura Minerals by 32.4% in the second quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 596 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aura Minerals by 522.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 616 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Aura Minerals during the fourth quarter valued at about $134,000. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new stake in Aura Minerals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $245,000. Finally, Absolute Gestao de Investimentos Ltda. bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the 1st quarter valued at $306,000.

Aura Minerals Company Profile

Aura Minerals Inc is a mining company focused on the exploration, development and production of gold, copper and other associated minerals. The company operates a portfolio of mines and projects in the Americas and sells the metals produced from its operations to commercial customers.

Aura's assets include the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Mexico, the San Andrés gold mine in Honduras, and gold operations in Brazil, including the Almas and Apoena complexes. The company also has development and exploration projects intended to support future production and extend the operating life of its portfolio.

Headquartered in the Americas and listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol AUGO, Aura Minerals has built its business through the acquisition, development and operation of precious- and base-metal assets.

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