Head to Head Analysis: Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) vs. Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU)

Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) and Energy Fuels (NYSE:UUUU) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Centrus Energy and Energy Fuels, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Centrus Energy	0	2	1	0	2.33
Energy Fuels	0	2	2	0	2.50

Centrus Energy currently has a consensus price target of $92.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.93%. Energy Fuels has a consensus price target of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 21.78%. Given Energy Fuels’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Energy Fuels is more favorable than Centrus Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Centrus Energy and Energy Fuels”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Centrus Energy	$320.20 million	4.45	$84.40 million	$4.79	18.13
Energy Fuels	$38.66 million	35.50	$99.86 million	($0.22)	-31.73

Energy Fuels has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Centrus Energy. Energy Fuels is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Centrus Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Centrus Energy and Energy Fuels’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Centrus Energy	19.24%	138.38%	10.81%
Energy Fuels	-90.40%	-9.16%	-8.67%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

50.0% of Centrus Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.2% of Energy Fuels shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Centrus Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Energy Fuels shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Centrus Energy has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Energy Fuels has a beta of 1.6, suggesting that its stock price is 60% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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. The Technical Solutions segment offers technical, manufacturing, engineering, and operations services to public and private sector customers. The company was formerly known as USEC Inc. and changed its name to Centrus Energy Corp. in September 2014. Centrus Energy Corp. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

About Energy Fuels

Energy Fuels Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction, recovery, recycling, exploration, permitting, evaluation, and sale of uranium mineral properties in the United States. The company produces and sells vanadium pentoxide, rare earth elements, and heavy mineral sands, such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and monazite. The company was formerly known as Volcanic Metals Exploration Inc. and changed its name to Energy Fuels Inc. in May 2006. Energy Fuels Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Lakewood, Colorado.