Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Cameco from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cameco from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Cameco in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Citigroup reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Cameco in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Cameco in a report on Monday, June 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cameco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.68.

Cameco Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CCJ opened at $91.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.06. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.72. The company has a quick ratio of 2.10, a current ratio of 3.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. Cameco has a 52-week low of $77.70 and a 52-week high of $135.24.

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) (TSE:CCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.26 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $573.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $579.60 million. Cameco had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 10.20%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.71 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Cameco will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cameco

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Cameco during the second quarter worth approximately $735,498,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco in the 4th quarter worth $443,265,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Cameco in the 2nd quarter worth $420,346,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cameco during the 2nd quarter worth $381,091,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cameco during the 2nd quarter worth $354,022,000. 70.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cameco Company Profile

Cameco Corporation is a Canadian uranium company headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Established in 1988 through the merger of Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation and Eldorado Nuclear Limited, Cameco is one of the world’s largest publicly traded uranium producers.

The company explores, develops and operates uranium mines, primarily in Canada, the United States and Kazakhstan. Its assets include the McArthur River and Cigar Lake operations in northern Saskatchewan, as well as interests in the Inkai operation in Kazakhstan.