Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading 9.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)’s stock price was up 9.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.86 and last traded at $18.86. Approximately 476,087 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 34% from the average daily volume of 719,511 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, B. Riley raised their target price on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average is $20.76 and its 200-day moving average is $17.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.46 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.31. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $539.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.13) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 0.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total value of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $962,784.41. This represents a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aristeia Capital L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $681,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 17.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 301,992 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,901,000 after buying an additional 43,881 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Century Aluminum by 266.5% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 97,396 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,581,000 after acquiring an additional 70,825 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Century Aluminum in the third quarter valued at about $475,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 621,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,084,000 after acquiring an additional 89,621 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Century Aluminum

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.