Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Centrus Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Northland Securities set a $285.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $137.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Centrus Energy from $245.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, B. Riley Financial decreased their target price on shares of Centrus Energy from $315.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.18.

Centrus Energy Price Performance

NYSE:LEU opened at $169.06 on Monday. Centrus Energy has a 52 week low of $90.83 and a 52 week high of $464.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.98, a P/E/G ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $239.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 4.88 and a current ratio of 5.72.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.72. Centrus Energy had a net margin of 13.40% and a return on equity of 13.10%. The business had revenue of $76.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Centrus Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centrus Energy will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centrus Energy

In other news, CFO Todd M. Tinelli sold 306 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.55, for a total value of $62,286.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centrus Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Centrus Energy by 126.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 371,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,265,000 after purchasing an additional 207,316 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 78.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 442,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,132,000 after purchasing an additional 194,909 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 780,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,161,000 after purchasing an additional 160,482 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 473,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,861,000 after purchasing an additional 143,069 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 217.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 160,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,868,000 after purchasing an additional 109,960 shares during the period. 49.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Centrus Energy Company Profile

Centrus Energy Corp is a U.S.-based supplier of nuclear fuel and enrichment services, specializing in the production of low-enriched uranium (LEU) for commercial power reactors and highly enriched uranium for naval propulsion. Through its Centrus Global subsidiary, the company provides technical support, fuel fabrication services and recycled uranium products to utilities operating light-water reactors. Centrus also develops advanced centrifuge technologies aimed at improving enrichment efficiency and reducing the cost of nuclear fuel.

Originally founded as the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) in 1998 following a spin-out from the U.S.