Pier Capital LLC Takes $1.64 Million Position in Centrus Energy Corp. $LEU

Pier Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 5,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,639,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Centrus Energy by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 5,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the period. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centrus Energy during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Centrus Energy in the third quarter worth about $291,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 61.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 143,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,640,000 after buying an additional 54,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Centrus Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $362,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LEU shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $357.00 target price on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Centrus Energy from $245.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $246.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Northland Securities set a $285.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centrus Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.83.

Centrus Energy Trading Up 7.1%

Shares of LEU opened at $214.65 on Friday. Centrus Energy Corp. has a 1-year low of $49.40 and a 1-year high of $464.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.47 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 5.59 and a quick ratio of 4.83. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $272.81.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by ($0.63). The company had revenue of $146.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.40 million. Centrus Energy had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 17.34%.Centrus Energy’s revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.