Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $71.57, but opened at $76.00. Centrus Energy shares last traded at $75.96, with a volume of 144,218 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LEU. Roth Capital cut Centrus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. B. Riley boosted their target price on Centrus Energy from $88.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Roth Mkm dropped their price objective on Centrus Energy from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Centrus Energy Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 15.68 and a beta of 1.12.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.48). Centrus Energy had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 138.38%. The company had revenue of $57.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.50 million. Analysts predict that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 426,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,380,000 after acquiring an additional 188,478 shares during the period. Sara Bay Financial increased its stake in Centrus Energy by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sara Bay Financial now owns 337,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,415,000 after purchasing an additional 12,514 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Centrus Energy by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 319,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,552,000 after purchasing an additional 15,080 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Centrus Energy by 3.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 297,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,727,000 after purchasing an additional 8,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Centrus Energy by 382.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 222,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,516,000 after purchasing an additional 176,431 shares in the last quarter. 49.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Centrus Energy

Centrus Energy Corp. supplies nuclear fuel components and services for the nuclear power industry in the United States, Belgium, Japan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Low-Enriched Uranium (LEU) and Technical Solutions. The LEU segment sells separative work units (SWU) components of LEU; natural uranium hexafluoride, uranium concentrates, and uranium conversion; and enriched uranium products to utilities that operate nuclear power plants.