Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Centrus Energy Corp. $LEU

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) by 152.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,142 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 38,132 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. owned 0.35% of Centrus Energy worth $15,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 309.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 34,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,776,000 after buying an additional 26,257 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Centrus Energy by 78.8% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 442,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,132,000 after acquiring an additional 194,909 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Centrus Energy by 16,538.1% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 101,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,598,000 after acquiring an additional 100,717 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Centrus Energy by 16.1% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 53,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,052,000 after acquiring an additional 7,450 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Centrus Energy by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 780,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,161,000 after acquiring an additional 160,482 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centrus Energy

In other news, CFO Todd M. Tinelli sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.55, for a total transaction of $62,286.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LEU. Weiss Ratings cut Centrus Energy from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Centrus Energy from $245.00 to $195.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Centrus Energy from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Northland Securities set a $285.00 price target on Centrus Energy in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Centrus Energy from $224.00 to $218.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centrus Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.18.

Centrus Energy Stock Down 13.4%

Shares of LEU opened at $161.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.54, a P/E/G ratio of 23.58 and a beta of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $191.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 5.72 and a quick ratio of 4.88. Centrus Energy Corp. has a 1 year low of $133.00 and a 1 year high of $464.25.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $0.72. The business had revenue of $76.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.13 million. Centrus Energy had a return on equity of 13.10% and a net margin of 13.40%.Centrus Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centrus Energy 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.