AuRico Gold Inc Stock Downgraded (AUQ)

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- AuRico Gold (NYSE:AUQ) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its robust revenue growth, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures and compelling growth in net income. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself and weak operating cash flow.

Highlights from the ratings report include:

• AUQ's very impressive revenue growth greatly exceeded the industry average of 10.3%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues leaped by 50.1%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share.
• AUQ's debt-to-equity ratio is very low at 0.10 and is currently below that of the industry average, implying that there has been very successful management of debt levels. Along with the favorable debt-to-equity ratio, the company maintains an adequate quick ratio of 1.12, which illustrates the ability to avoid short-term cash problems.
• The gross profit margin for AURICO GOLD INC is rather high; currently it is at 62.00%. Despite the high profit margin, it has decreased significantly from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, AUQ's net profit margin of 73.10% significantly outperformed against the industry.
• Reflecting the weaknesses we have cited, including the decline in the company's earnings per share, AUQ has underperformed the S&P 500 Index, declining 14.83% from its price level of one year ago. The fact that the stock is now selling for less than others in its industry in relation to its current earnings is not reason enough to justify a buy rating at this time.
• Net operating cash flow has decreased to $22.84 million or 35.90% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite a decrease in cash flow AURICO GOLD INC is still fairing well by exceeding its industry average cash flow growth rate of -49.33%.

.

AuRico Gold Inc. engages in the exploration, development, and production of gold and silver projects and properties in Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Its principal property includes the Ocampo mine covering approximately 15,000 hectares located in Chihuahua State. The company has a P/E ratio of 13.2, above the average metals & mining industry P/E ratio of 11.2 and below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. AuRico has a market cap of $2.45 billion and is part of the basic materials sector and metals & mining industry. Shares are up 19.7% year to date as of the close of trading on Monday.

You can view the full AuRico Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.
-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

For more information on AuRico Gold Inc click any of the following:

• AuRico Gold Inc Stock Price

• AuRico Gold Inc Analyst Ratings

• AuRico Gold Inc Key Stats & Profile

• AuRico Gold Inc Earnings

• AuRico Gold Inc Ratio Comparison

• AuRico Gold Inc Growth Rates

• AuRico Gold Inc Balance Sheet

• AuRico Gold Inc Cash Flow

• AuRico Gold Inc Income Statement