Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $33.65 and last traded at $32.99, with a volume of 98006 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered Century Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, B. Riley lifted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.50.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72 and a beta of 2.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $20.97.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.39). The business had revenue of $628.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.10 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 4.94% and a return on equity of 18.02%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was 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 directly owned 55,260 shares in the company, valued at $1,542,306.60. This represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total transaction of $279,868.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,456,446.03. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter worth $640,000. Sheets Smith Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the third quarter worth about $274,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 26.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Sheets Smith Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the third quarter worth about $652,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 103.1% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 407,939 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,977,000 after buying an additional 207,040 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

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.