Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading Up 5% – Still a Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX – Get Free Report)’s share price rose 5% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $31.81 and last traded at $31.8050. Approximately 206,848 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 1,819,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CENX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley increased their target price on Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Zacks Research raised Century Aluminum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $33.00.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on CENX

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.13 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $632.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $629.85 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $264,949.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 55,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,542,306.60. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENX. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.8% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 53,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands.

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