Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading 4.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s stock price shot up 4.4% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $46.44 and last traded at $45.8450. Approximately 294,831 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,188,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 1.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.81.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.13. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 33.83% and a net margin of 22.63%.The company had revenue of $752.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.15 million. The business’s revenue was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Century Aluminum Company will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,044,000. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 5,428.0% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,534,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $162,637,000 after buying an additional 3,470,866 shares during the period. AlphaGrep UK Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $344,000. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the second quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 4.1% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 100,220 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,611,000 after buying an additional 3,903 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.