Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 464,814 Shares of Century Aluminum Company $CENX

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) by 113.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 872,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 464,814 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Century Aluminum were worth $34,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.5% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 0.8% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 53,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 12.9% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ CENX opened at $50.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 125.48 and a beta of 2.17. Century Aluminum Company has a one year low of $13.05 and a one year high of $59.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $50.84 and its 200-day moving average is $38.41.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In other news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total transaction of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,895.93. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.72, for a total transaction of $3,347,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 97,647 shares in the company, valued at $4,952,655.84. This trade represents a 40.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 401,626 shares of company stock valued at $20,847,911 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CENX. Zacks Research raised Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Century Aluminum from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

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.