Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after B. Riley raised their price target on the stock from $37.00 to $64.00. The stock had previously closed at $47.32, but opened at $50.90. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. Century Aluminum shares last traded at $50.2580, with a volume of 400,519 shares trading hands.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CENX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Zacks Research cut Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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 assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.00.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $7,228,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 292,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,099,430.20. The trade was a 33.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 1,291.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 5.9%

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $40.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.92 and a beta of 2.24.

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

Century Aluminum Company Profile

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.