Centrus Energy Corp. $LEU Shares Bought by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Centrus Energy Corp. by 11.7%, acquiring an additional 4,424 shares, bringing its total ownership to approximately 0.25% of the company valued at $2.6 million.
• Centrus Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.59, significantly exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.58, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 18.3%.
• Analysts have set mixed ratings for Centrus Energy, with targets ranging from $164.00 to $300.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock amidst institutional interest.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,082 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,424 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Centrus Energy worth $2,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Centrus Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Centrus Energy by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 135,389 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,018,000 after acquiring an additional 16,378 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Centrus Energy by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 37,173 shares of the company's stock worth $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Centrus Energy during the 4th quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centrus Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $10,367,000. 49.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Centrus Energy from $251.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Centrus Energy from $150.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Centrus Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.09.

Centrus Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE LEU traded down $2.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $222.13. 661,966 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,057,321. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. Centrus Energy Corp. has a 12 month low of $39.03 and a 12 month high of $264.90. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 50.37 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $208.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.60.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $1.01. Centrus Energy had a net margin of 16.56% and a return on equity of 84.09%. Centrus Energy's revenue was down 18.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.89 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

Centrus Energy Profile

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.