Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Aura Minerals Inc. (NASDAQ:AUGO)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $63.37, but opened at $60.29. Aura Minerals shares last traded at $59.4130, with a volume of 141,338 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AUGO. Wall Street Zen raised Aura Minerals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on Aura Minerals from $122.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Aura Minerals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Aura Minerals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.93.

Aura Minerals Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $69.45 and its 200-day moving average is $72.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Aura Minerals (NASDAQ:AUGO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $382.61 million during the quarter. Aura Minerals had a return on equity of 111.96% and a net margin of 7.80%. On average, research analysts expect that Aura Minerals Inc. will post 7.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Aura Minerals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. This is a positive change from Aura Minerals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. Aura Minerals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 288.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aura Minerals

In other news, CFO Santos Cardoso Joao Kleber Dos sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.95, for a total value of $3,717,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 118,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,316,976.45. This represents a 33.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Luvizotto Glauber Rosa sold 19,010 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.23, for a total transaction of $1,240,022.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 390,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,480,664.44. This represents a 4.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 403,092 shares of company stock valued at $30,450,738 in the last ninety days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Aura Minerals in the third quarter worth about $60,284,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Aura Minerals by 42.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 977,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,740,000 after acquiring an additional 291,623 shares in the last quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda lifted its position in Aura Minerals by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 877,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,225,000 after acquiring an additional 71,289 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in Aura Minerals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,097,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Aura Minerals by 32.7% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 623,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,439,000 after acquiring an additional 153,828 shares during the period.

About Aura Minerals

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.