Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Upgraded at Zacks Research

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

A number of other analysts have also commented on LEU. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $137.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Centrus Energy from $245.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Centrus Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Northland Securities set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $246.00 price objective on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Thursday, February 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.18.

Centrus Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:LEU opened at $169.06 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $196.85 and a 200-day moving average of $239.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.98, a P/E/G ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 4.88, a current ratio of 5.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Centrus Energy has a twelve month low of $90.83 and a twelve month high of $464.25.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centrus Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 309.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,776,000 after acquiring an additional 26,257 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 78.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 442,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,132,000 after acquiring an additional 194,909 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 25.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 780,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,161,000 after acquiring an additional 160,482 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 53,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,052,000 after acquiring an additional 7,450 shares during the period. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 232.9% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 19,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,195,000 after acquiring an additional 13,976 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 49.96% of the company’s stock.

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.