Squarepoint Ops LLC Buys 147,087 Shares of Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) by 139.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 252,331 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 147,087 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.27% of Century Aluminum worth $4,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its position in Century Aluminum by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,665,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $66,053,000 after purchasing an additional 426,306 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 340.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,733,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,744 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 612.0% during the second quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,424,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,662,000 after buying an additional 1,224,088 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,300,691 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,443,000 after buying an additional 6,397 shares during the period. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in Century Aluminum during the first quarter worth $19,317,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $264,949.63. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 55,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,542,306.60. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley upped their target price on Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Century Aluminum from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of CENX opened at $31.39 on Tuesday. Century Aluminum Company has a one year low of $13.05 and a one year high of $34.51. The company has a market cap of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93 and a beta of 2.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $30.05 and a 200-day moving average of $24.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.23). Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 3.47%.The firm had revenue of $632.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $629.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Century Aluminum 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.