Zacks Research Upgrades Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) to “Strong-Buy”

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $53.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of CENX opened at $50.22 on Tuesday. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $13.05 and a 1 year high of $55.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 59.08 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $44.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.05.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $7,228,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 292,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,099,430.20. The trade was a 33.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENX. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 26.3% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Century Aluminum by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake 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 valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company is a primary aluminum producer that develops and operates smelters designed to supply low-carbon, high-purity aluminum products to a range of industrial and commercial markets. Established in 1995, the company has grown to become a significant North American aluminum producer with an expanding international footprint. Century Aluminum is headquartered in the United States and is focused on energy-efficient operations and cost management.

The company’s core operations include three primary aluminum smelting facilities located in Hawesville, Kentucky; Mount Holly, South Carolina; and Grundartangi, Iceland.