Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Stock Price Up 8.2% – Time to Buy?

Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU)’s share price was up 8.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $304.00 and last traded at $304.8970. Approximately 582,778 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,286,635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Centrus Energy from $275.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 7th. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Centrus Energy from $221.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Zacks Research raised Centrus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $245.00 price target on Centrus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.33.

Centrus Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 3.46, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.77 and a beta of 1.24.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.30) EPS. Centrus Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. 360 Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centrus Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Centrus Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $227,000. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. increased its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 125.1% during the third 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. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Centrus Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,024,000. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Centrus Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $230,000. 49.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Centrus Energy

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.