Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.52 and last traded at $51.14, with a volume of 24067 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $49.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on CENX. Zacks Research lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report 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, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

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 market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 58.86 and a beta of 2.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.12.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced 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 for 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%. Century Aluminum’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $7,228,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 292,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,099,430.20. This represents a 33.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at about $899,000. Ruffer LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $936,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 8,592 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 30,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.