Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $72.50, but opened at $80.75. Centrus Energy shares last traded at $82.46, with a volume of 569,474 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $1.68. Centrus Energy had a return on equity of 84.09% and a net margin of 16.56%. The company’s revenue was up 67.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.38) EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Centrus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Centrus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Centrus Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

Insider Activity at Centrus Energy

In other news, SVP Larry B. Cutlip sold 4,000 shares of Centrus Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.31, for a total transaction of $481,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,402 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,131,154.62. This trade represents a 29.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centrus Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $376,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 8,445.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 2,027 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Centrus Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $365,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Centrus Energy by 82.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Centrus Energy by 13.4% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 6,804 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.96% of the company’s stock.

Centrus Energy Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $69.74 and a 200 day moving average of $79.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.09. The company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.22 and a beta of 1.14.

Centrus Energy Company 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.