Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX)

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 14,415 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 679% compared to the typical daily volume of 1,850 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CENX shares. Zacks Research downgraded Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Century Aluminum from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Century Aluminum news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total value of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 56,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,895.93. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 97,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,952,655.84. This represents a 40.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 401,626 shares of company stock valued at $20,847,911 over the last three months. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum during the third quarter valued at approximately $942,000. New Century Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 3rd quarter valued at $987,000. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 620.8% during the 3rd quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 143,144 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,203,000 after buying an additional 123,285 shares during the period. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Century Aluminum in the third quarter worth $1,277,000. Finally, Glencore plc boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Glencore plc now owns 53,511,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,096,596,000 after buying an additional 13,454,538 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

NASDAQ CENX opened at $62.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.60 and a beta of 1.99. Century Aluminum has a 1-year low of $14.77 and a 1-year high of $68.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.58.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 1.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share 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.