Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Needham & Company LLC

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

LEU has been the subject of several other research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Centrus Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. B. Riley Financial decreased their price target on Centrus Energy from $315.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Centrus Energy from $240.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Roth Capital dropped their price objective on Centrus Energy from $230.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Centrus Energy from $224.00 to $218.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.45.

Centrus Energy Trading Up 4.5%

Shares of LEU stock opened at $174.01 on Thursday. Centrus Energy has a 1-year low of $144.65 and a 1-year high of $464.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 57.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 20.34 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 5.72 and a quick ratio of 4.88.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $76.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Centrus Energy will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Centrus Energy

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

Institutional Trading of Centrus Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Centrus Energy by 589.5% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 560 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 57.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 6,312 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 54,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,379,000 after purchasing an additional 17,014 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Centrus Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $435,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 8,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 49.96% of the company’s stock.

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.