Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Stock Price

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) had its price target lowered by analysts at Citigroup from $292.00 to $225.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.67% from the company’s current price.

LEU has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $357.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of Centrus Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centrus Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.00.

Centrus Energy Stock Up 3.9%

LEU stock traded up $7.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $207.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 513,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,415,400. Centrus Energy has a 52-week low of $49.40 and a 52-week high of $464.25. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.42. The company has a quick ratio of 4.83, a current ratio of 5.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.64 and a beta of 1.21.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.42 by ($0.63). The company had revenue of $146.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.40 million. Centrus Energy had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 17.34%.Centrus Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centrus Energy will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LEU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 126.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 371,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,265,000 after buying an additional 207,316 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Centrus Energy by 483.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 247,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,310,000 after acquiring an additional 204,983 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 160,482 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 43.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 473,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,861,000 after buying an additional 143,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Centrus Energy by 2,303.8% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 114,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,684,000 after purchasing an additional 109,293 shares during 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.