Analysts Set Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) Target Price at $79.33

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.3333.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. B. Riley Financial increased their price target on Century Aluminum from $68.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Century Aluminum from $69.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Zacks Research cut Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $75.00 target price on Century Aluminum and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 5.1%

Shares of Century Aluminum stock opened at $59.87 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $56.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 149.68 and a beta of 1.99. Century Aluminum has a twelve month low of $14.77 and a twelve month high of $68.69.

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 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 quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owned 142,580 shares in the company, valued at $7,908,912.60. This trade represents a 51.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,895.93. This represents a 15.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 251,626 shares of company stock valued at $13,619,411 in the last quarter. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

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