Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 21,974 Shares of Centrus Energy Corp. $LEU

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Centrus Energy Corp. by 2.3%, selling 21,974 shares, and now holds approximately 5.64% of the company valued at $58.8 million.
• Various analysts set optimistic price targets for Centrus Energy, with estimates ranging from $220.00 to $300.00, reflecting a consensus average target of $202.09.
• Centrus Energy's stock has recently surged by 12.6%, trading at $208.67, although the company reported a decline in revenue of 18.3% year-over-year during its latest earnings report.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 945,419 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,974 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 5.64% of Centrus Energy worth $58,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Centrus Energy by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,604 shares of the company's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Centrus Energy by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 9,960 shares of the company's stock valued at $663,000 after purchasing an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Centrus Energy by 509.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,670,000 after buying an additional 20,958 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centrus Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $370,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 320,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,375,000 after buying an additional 8,539 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.96% of the company's stock.

Centrus Energy Stock Up 8.0%

Shares of Centrus Energy stock traded up $15.85 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $214.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,138,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,057,866. The company has a quick ratio of 2.46, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.53 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.18. Centrus Energy Corp. has a 1-year low of $34.91 and a 1-year high of $264.90.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 84.09% and a net margin of 16.56%.During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LEU shares. Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $285.00 target price (up previously from $210.00) on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Northland Securities set a $275.00 price objective on Centrus Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Centrus Energy from $251.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. B. Riley reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $221.00 target price (up previously from $134.00) on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Kevin J. Harrill sold 1,728 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.00, for a total value of $217,728.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.