JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) Stock Price

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) had its target price dropped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $245.00 to $242.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential downside of 8.41% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on LEU. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research raised Centrus Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Centrus Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Centrus Energy from $117.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $357.00 price target on shares of Centrus Energy in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.08.

Centrus Energy Stock Up 9.1%

LEU stock opened at $264.21 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $276.39 and a 200-day moving average of $273.14. Centrus Energy has a fifty-two week low of $49.40 and a fifty-two week high of $464.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.15 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 2.79 and a current ratio of 3.46.

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.36 by ($0.17). Centrus Energy had a net margin of 25.04% and a return on equity of 37.14%. Centrus Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 29.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.30) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Centrus Energy will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Centrus Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Centrus Energy by 483.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 247,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,310,000 after purchasing an additional 204,983 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Centrus Energy by 25.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 780,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,161,000 after acquiring an additional 160,482 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Centrus Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $19,142,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Centrus Energy by 16,538.1% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 101,326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,598,000 after buying an additional 100,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centrus Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $16,324,000. 49.96% of the stock is currently owned by 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.