Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $35.25 and last traded at $34.9970, with a volume of 239927 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.81.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CENX. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $34.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. B. Riley lifted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60 and a beta of 2.28.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $632.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $629.85 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 12.83%. Century Aluminum’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Agust F. Hafberg sold 9,493 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 55,260 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,542,306.60. The trade was a 14.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 157.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 129,375 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 79,118 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 68.6% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 693,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,876,000 after buying an additional 282,163 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 177.6% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 6,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 4,459 shares during the period. Penn Capital Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 32.8% during the first quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 518,374 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,632,000 after buying an additional 128,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steamboat Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 306.1% during the first quarter. Steamboat Capital Partners LLC now owns 194,978 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,619,000 after buying an additional 146,962 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.