Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Stock Price Down 10.9% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Aura Minerals shares fell 10.9% to about $69.79, with trading volume down 91% from its average. The decline places the stock below its 50-day moving average of $84.74 but above its 200-day average of $75.59.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable overall: five analysts rate the stock a Buy and two rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $86.95.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.57 on $335.97 million in revenue, but reduced its quarterly dividend to $0.72 from $0.78. Insiders were net sellers in the last quarter, selling 1.57 million shares worth $133.3 million versus $22.7 million in purchases.

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) shares dropped 10.9% on Friday. The company traded as low as $71.02 and last traded at $69.7860. 88,528 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 974,702 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AUGO. Wall Street Zen raised Aura Minerals from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, October 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Aura Minerals from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Aura Minerals in a report on Thursday, September 17th. They set a "sector outperform" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Santander cut shares of Aura Minerals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Aura Minerals from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aura Minerals currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.95.

Aura Minerals Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.48.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported $2.57 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $335.97 million for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a net margin of 23.18% and a return on equity of 103.62%. Equities analysts expect that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Aura Minerals Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. This is a drop from Aura Minerals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Aura Minerals's payout ratio is currently 81.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Minerals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Aura Minerals by 41.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 69,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,485,000 after purchasing an additional 20,472 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter worth about $250,000. Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aura Minerals during the third quarter worth approximately $215,000. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. bought a new position in Aura Minerals in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG raised its position in Aura Minerals by 16.3% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 473,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,231,000 after purchasing an additional 66,190 shares in the last quarter.

Aura Minerals Company Profile

Aura Minerals Inc is a mining company focused on the exploration, development, and operation of gold, copper, and other precious and base-metal properties in the Americas. The company's activities span the full mining life cycle, including resource evaluation, mine development, production, processing, and exploration for additional mineral deposits.

Aura's portfolio has included the Aranzazu copper-gold-silver mine in Zacatecas, Mexico; the San Andrés gold mine in Honduras; and gold operations in Brazil, including the Almas and São Francisco mines.

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