Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading 5.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) were up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $58.03 and last traded at $58.0240. Approximately 682,701 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 2,173,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CENX has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Century Aluminum from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Century Aluminum from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 price target on Century Aluminum and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $58.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.25. The business had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.59% and a net margin of 13.75%.The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Century Aluminum Company will post 10.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total value of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,895.93. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Matt Aboud sold 2,971 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.67, for a total value of $156,482.57. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 64,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,415,280.81. This trade represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 251,626 shares of company stock worth $13,619,411. Corporate insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CENX. Glencore plc boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Glencore plc now owns 53,511,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,096,596,000 after purchasing an additional 13,454,538 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 612.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,424,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,088 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,257 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 210.4% in the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,525 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 109.7% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,830,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,422,000 after purchasing an additional 957,571 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

About Century Aluminum

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.