Analysts Set Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) Price Target at $54.33

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $54.3333.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CENX. B. Riley Financial upped their price target on Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of CENX stock opened at $53.43 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 133.58 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.97. Century Aluminum has a one year low of $13.05 and a one year high of $56.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.59 and its 200 day moving average is $35.14.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.55%. The firm had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.72, for a total transaction of $3,347,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,952,655.84. This represents a 40.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,126 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.50, for a total value of $636,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 67,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,560,235. This represents a 15.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 231,097 shares of company stock valued at $11,369,118 in the last ninety days. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 12,911 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,185 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.