Centrus Energy shares have soared since a deal to reopen Three Mile Island indicated a nuclear renaissance.
Tight supplies of uranium and a lack of nuclear enrichment in the U.S. make Centrus a key nuclear player.
But Centrus’ share price is high right now, and near-term prospects for earnings growth appear limited.
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In case you haven’t noticed, nuclear energy stocks are having a moment in 2025. Four months ago, President Trump signed a series of executive orders designed to accelerate the development of nuclear power stations and secure access to supplies of nuclear fuel in the United States.
Investors in nuclear stocks have been quick to respond to the news. Over the past 12 months, shares of start-ups developing small and micro nuclear reactor plants are on the rise. For example, names like NuScale Power and Nano Nuclear Energy are up 246% and 267%.
Meanwhile, on the supply side, veteran uranium supplier Centrus Energy (NYSEMKT: LEU) has seen its shares soar 450%. Does it still have room to run?
Image source: Getty Images.
And what lies behind Centrus’s amazing rise — I mean, in addition to the well-timed support from the President?
Well, there’s Russia’s war in Ukraine, for one thing. The United States imports 99% of the uranium used in American nuclear power plants, and 27% of that comes from Russia. “Thanks” to the war, however, the U.S. government has passed laws banning imports of Russian-sourced uranium, effective in 2028, and that means Centrus’ role as a buyer and reseller of imported uranium is only going to get more important over time.
Centrus is further cementing its centrality by developing the capacity to enrich uranium domestically, such that the U.S. won’t need to import so much uranium from abroad — even from friendly suppliers such as France’s Orano or from the British-Dutch-German company Urenco.
Alongside Urenco, which operates an enrichment facility in New Mexico, Centrus is the only other company licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission…
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