Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Stock Price Down 12.8% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares plunged 12.8% to about $294.40 on Thursday, with ~850,324 shares traded—about 35% below average—after a prior close of $337.76.
• Analyst views are mixed: several firms have Buy/Strong Buy ratings and high targets (up to $390), but the MarketBeat consensus is a Moderate Buy with a $253.33 target below the current share price.
• Fundamentals show a recent earnings miss (EPS $0.19 vs. $0.36 expected) despite revenue up 29.8% YoY; the stock trades at a P/E of 45.3, market cap ~$5.4B, and institutional ownership near 50%.

Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU - Get Free Report) fell 12.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $294.57 and last traded at $294.3950. 850,324 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 35% from the average session volume of 1,306,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $337.76.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Centrus Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Northland Securities set a $325.00 target price on Centrus Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $390.00 price objective on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $357.00 target price on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Centrus Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $253.33.

Centrus Energy Price Performance

The business's fifty day simple moving average is $273.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.34 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 3.46 and a quick ratio of 2.79.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 37.14%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.30) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centrus Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LEU. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Centrus Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,086,443 shares of the company's stock worth $263,745,000 after purchasing an additional 14,325 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Centrus Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 936,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,376,000 after buying an additional 58,634 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Centrus Energy by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 780,986 shares of the company's stock worth $242,161,000 after acquiring an additional 160,482 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 78.8% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 442,261 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,132,000 after purchasing an additional 194,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Centrus Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 358,799 shares of the company's stock worth $111,260,000 after purchasing an additional 10,333 shares in 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.

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