Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $30.37 and last traded at $29.82, with a volume of 1748721 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CENX. B. Riley boosted their target price on Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Century Aluminum from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 3rd. Zacks Research raised Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.67.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.75 and a beta of 2.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.89. 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 (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The industrial products company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $628.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $606.10 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 18.02% and a net margin of 4.94%. On average, research analysts predict that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,027 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.27, for a total transaction of $279,868.29. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 62,589 shares in the company, valued at $1,456,446.03. This represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $264,949.63. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 55,260 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,542,306.60. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 1,291.8% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 253.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 261.8% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 12.9% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

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.