Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Given New $34.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $30.00 to $34.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.32% from the company’s previous close.

CENX has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Century Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $30.75.

Century Aluminum Stock Up 1.2%

CENX stock opened at $28.98 on Friday. Century Aluminum has a 12 month low of $13.05 and a 12 month high of $34.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.98 and a beta of 2.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $27.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.16.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.32). Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 4.94%.The company had revenue of $632.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $629.85 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $264,949.63. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 55,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,542,306.60. This trade represents a 14.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total transaction of $279,868.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 62,589 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,446.03. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Century Aluminum by 340.1% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,733,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,744 shares during the period. Sourcerock Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 612.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,424,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,088 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at about $19,317,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at about $14,726,000. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the first quarter worth about $13,920,000. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.