Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)

Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 540,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,400 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.58% of Century Aluminum worth $9,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CENX. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 539,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,824,000 after buying an additional 51,770 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at about $337,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 58,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,059,000 after buying an additional 2,801 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at about $313,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 30,115 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 2,198 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.99, for a total transaction of $49,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 64,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,281,019.17. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on CENX. StockNews.com upgraded Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Century Aluminum from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

NASDAQ CENX opened at $16.39 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $17.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.05. Century Aluminum has a 52 week low of $11.40 and a 52 week high of $25.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 2.70.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $633.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $643.80 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.69%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

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.