Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $40.00 and last traded at $39.9520, with a volume of 3570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CENX. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley upped their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.00.

Century Aluminum Trading Up 2.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.27 and a beta of 2.28.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its 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). Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 3.47%.The firm had revenue of $632.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $629.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Century Aluminum’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CENX. 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 last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 253.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in Century Aluminum during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Century Aluminum by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Century Aluminum

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.