Heartland Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Centrus Energy Corp. $LEU

Heartland Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) by 69.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 27,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,500 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Centrus Energy were worth $8,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Centrus Energy by 483.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 247,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,310,000 after purchasing an additional 204,983 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centrus Energy during the second quarter valued at about $19,142,000. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Centrus Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $16,324,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Centrus Energy by 193.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 134,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,616,000 after acquiring an additional 88,513 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Centrus Energy by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,072,118 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,432,000 after acquiring an additional 86,509 shares during the period. 49.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centrus Energy Price Performance

Shares of LEU opened at $198.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.59, a quick ratio of 4.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Centrus Energy Corp. has a 1-year low of $49.40 and a 1-year high of $464.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 47.62 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $271.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.48.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last issued 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). Centrus Energy had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 17.34%.The company had revenue of $146.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.40 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $137.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Northland Securities set a $285.00 price objective on Centrus Energy in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $357.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, B. Riley Financial raised their target price on shares of Centrus Energy from $221.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Centrus Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.92.

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.