Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Centerra Gold Inc. (NYSE:CGAU) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company's most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. After the sale of 54,211 shares, the fund now holds 985,313 shares of Centerra Gold's stock, representing about 0.47% of the company, valued at approximately $5,604,000 as of the latest SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Centerra Gold recently. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Centerra Gold during the fourth quarter, estimated at around $59,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Centerra Gold worth $80,000 in the same period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Centerra Gold valued at $89,000 in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position during the third quarter, approximately worth $127,000. Lastly, Entropy Technologies LP entered a new investment in Centerra Gold during the fourth quarter, estimated at $177,000. Institutional investors, including hedge funds, now own approximately 55.40% of Centerra Gold's stock.

Analyst Insights

Centerra Gold has been under the spotlight of several research analysts. Desjardins downgraded shares of Centerra Gold from a "moderate buy" rating to "hold" in a research report on February 13th. Conversely, National Bank Financial upgraded Centerra Gold to a "strong-buy" rating on March 21st. Scotiabank adjusted their price target for Centerra Gold from $10.00 to $9.00, while maintaining a "sector outperform" rating on the stock as noted in their January 15th report. Additionally, Cormark also downgraded Centerra Gold from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in their February 26th report. Overall, based on MarketBeat's ratings, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $11.00.

Stock Performance Overview

Current Stock Metrics

The stock opened at $6.32 on Wednesday and holds a market capitalization of $1.33 billion. It has a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.56, with a beta of 0.92. Centerra Gold's 50-day moving average price stands at $6.14, while its 200-day moving average price is $6.34. Over the past year, the stock has reached a low of $5.46 and a high of $7.82. Centerra Gold reported its quarterly earnings on February 20th, revealing an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.17, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. The company achieved a revenue of $302.40 million during the quarter, which was also below analysts' expectations of $316.92 million. Analysts predict that Centerra Gold will post an EPS of 0.59 for the current fiscal year.

Recent Dividend Increase

In addition, Centerra Gold has recently declared a quarterly dividend to be paid on March 27th. Shareholders recorded on March 13th will receive a dividend of $0.07 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date will also be March 13th. This payout translates to an annualized dividend of $0.28, resulting in a dividend yield of 4.43%, with a payout ratio of 52.78%.

Company Overview

Centerra Gold Inc. is a gold mining company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of gold and copper properties across North America, Turkey, and internationally. The company focuses on exploring for gold, copper, and molybdenum deposits, with key projects including the Mount Milligan gold-copper mine in British Columbia, Canada, and the Öksüt gold mine in Turkey.

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