Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Shares Down 7% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Shares down 7% to about $170.74 on Tuesday with light trading (≈192,896 shares, down 82% vs. average), and the stock sits well below its 50‑day ($215.83) and 200‑day ($271.00) moving averages.
• Quarterly EPS missed — Centrus reported $0.79 EPS versus analysts' $1.42 estimate while revenue of $146.2M was roughly in line, and analysts forecast about $2.63 EPS for the year.
• Analyst opinions are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $270.64 (individual targets range roughly $225–$357), and institutional investors own about 49.96% of the stock with several funds recently increasing stakes.

Shares of Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU - Get Free Report) dropped 7% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $168.00 and last traded at $170.7410. Approximately 192,896 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,064,926 shares. The stock had previously closed at $183.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Centrus Energy from $221.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Centrus Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Centrus Energy from $292.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $246.00 price objective on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $357.00 price objective on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $270.64.

Centrus Energy Trading Down 6.5%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $215.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 5.59 and a quick ratio of 4.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.14 and a beta of 1.35.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $146.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.40 million. Centrus Energy had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 17.34%.The business's revenue was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. grew its holdings in Centrus Energy by 125.1% during the 3rd quarter. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. now owns 93,888 shares of the company's stock worth $29,112,000 after acquiring an additional 52,181 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Centrus Energy by 309.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,754 shares of the company's stock worth $10,776,000 after acquiring an additional 26,257 shares in the last quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in Centrus Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,024,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Centrus Energy by 78.8% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 442,261 shares of the company's stock worth $137,132,000 after acquiring an additional 194,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in Centrus Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $5,427,000. 49.96% of the stock is currently 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.

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