Brokerages Set Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) PT at $57.00

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $57.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Century Aluminum news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total transaction of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,200,895.93. This trade represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total value of $8,320,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 142,580 shares in the company, valued at $7,908,912.60. This represents a 51.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 401,626 shares of company stock worth $20,847,911. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CENX. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 7,051 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 21.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 124,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 21,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 12.9% in the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of CENX stock opened at $49.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Century Aluminum has a fifty-two week low of $13.05 and a fifty-two week high of $59.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $50.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 124.13 and a beta of 2.16.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25. The firm had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

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.