Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Trading 7.9% Higher – Time to Buy?

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO)’s share price shot up 7.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $60.88 and last traded at $61.0260. 451,832 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 960,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on AUGO. Wall Street Zen raised Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Aura Minerals in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Aura Minerals from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Aura Minerals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.60.

Aura Minerals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.09 billion and a P/E ratio of 56.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $999.00 earnings per share for the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 111.96% and a net margin of 7.80%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 10.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aura Minerals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 19th. This is an increase from Aura Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.1%. Aura Minerals’s dividend payout ratio is 288.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Aura Minerals news, CEO Rodrigo Cardoso Barbosa sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total transaction of $4,885,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 794,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,716,085.35. The trade was a 7.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mauad Bruno Sousa sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.48, for a total value of $7,748,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 434,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,701,088.20. This trade represents a 18.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 310,392 shares of company stock worth $24,588,386.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aura Minerals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AUGO. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals during the third quarter worth approximately $2,968,000. Shell Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new position in Aura Minerals during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,097,000. Citigroup Inc. acquired a new position in Aura Minerals during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,997,000. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new position in Aura Minerals during the third quarter valued at approximately $517,000.

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.