Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $286.25, but opened at $304.99. Centrus Energy shares last traded at $315.9560, with a volume of 465,662 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LEU. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Centrus Energy from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Roth Capital lifted their target price on Centrus Energy from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $245.00 target price on Centrus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $357.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.33.

Centrus Energy Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 3.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $267.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $258.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.77 and a beta of 1.24.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.17). Centrus Energy had a return on equity of 37.14% and a net margin of 25.04%.During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.30) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 57.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 17,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 6,312 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 17,014 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in Centrus Energy by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 21,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Centrus Energy by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 10,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after buying an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 49.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.