Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Century Aluminum currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $24.67.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Century Aluminum stock opened at $21.84 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.83 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.75. Century Aluminum has a one year low of $11.63 and a one year high of $25.39. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $20.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.67.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.39). The firm had revenue of $628.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $606.10 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 4.94%. On average, analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total transaction of $279,868.29. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 62,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,456,446.03. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENX. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 103,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 3,580 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 99,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,522 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth about $333,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter worth about $313,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 192,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,507,000 after purchasing an additional 9,146 shares during the last quarter. 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.