Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Trading Up 8.7% – Should You Buy?

Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU)’s share price was up 8.7% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $179.82 and last traded at $176.2150. Approximately 355,104 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 990,237 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Centrus Energy from $224.00 to $218.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on shares of Centrus Energy from $315.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut Centrus Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on Centrus Energy from $230.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Centrus Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.18.

Centrus Energy Stock Up 8.3%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.11. The company has a quick ratio of 4.88, a current ratio of 5.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.17, a PEG ratio of 19.81 and a beta of 1.35.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.72. Centrus Energy had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 13.40%.The company had revenue of $76.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.13 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centrus Energy

In other Centrus Energy news, CFO Todd M. Tinelli sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.55, for a total transaction of $62,286.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centrus Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 309.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,776,000 after buying an additional 26,257 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 16,538.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 101,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,598,000 after acquiring an additional 100,717 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Centrus Energy by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 53,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,052,000 after acquiring an additional 7,450 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Centrus Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 936,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,376,000 after purchasing an additional 58,634 shares in the last quarter. 49.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Centrus Energy

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.