Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Position in Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy Corp. (NYSE:LEU) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 639 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Centrus Energy worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEU. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Centrus Energy by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 967,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,438,000 after buying an additional 71,872 shares during the period. Anatole Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Centrus Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $27,880,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 325,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,694,000 after acquiring an additional 5,668 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Centrus Energy by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 320,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,375,000 after acquiring an additional 8,539 shares during the period. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centrus Energy in the 4th quarter worth $15,215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LEU. Evercore ISI began coverage on Centrus Energy in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Centrus Energy in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $104.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright started coverage on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Centrus Energy to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centrus Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Kevin J. Harrill sold 1,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.00, for a total transaction of $217,728.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP John M. A. Donelson sold 3,732 shares of Centrus Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.31, for a total transaction of $359,428.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Centrus Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Centrus Energy stock opened at $124.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 1.14. Centrus Energy Corp. has a 52 week low of $33.51 and a 52 week high of $136.00. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $79.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $80.99.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $1.68. Centrus Energy had a net margin of 16.56% and a return on equity of 84.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 67.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.38) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Centrus Energy Corp. will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

About Centrus Energy

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.