Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.3333.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on CENX. Zacks Research downgraded Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 price target on Century Aluminum and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Century Aluminum from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.50, for a total transaction of $636,615.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 67,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,560,235. The trade was a 15.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total transaction of $8,320,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 142,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,908,912.60. The trade was a 51.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 401,626 shares of company stock valued at $20,847,911 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 68.9% in the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,218 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

CENX opened at $61.33 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $55.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.98. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $14.77 and a 1 year high of $68.69. The company has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 153.33 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 1.65%.The firm had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal 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.