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 report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. B. Riley Financial boosted their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

NASDAQ CENX opened at $52.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.76 and a beta of 2.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $44.41 and a 200 day moving average of $33.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Century Aluminum has a twelve month low of $13.05 and a twelve month high of $55.59.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.04). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.63 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $7,228,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 292,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,099,430.20. This represents a 33.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glencore plc grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Glencore plc now owns 53,511,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,096,596,000 after purchasing an additional 13,454,538 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,257 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,295,711 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $168,306,000 after acquiring an additional 77,895 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 340.1% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,733,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,744 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,609,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $63,044,000 after purchasing an additional 176,730 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.