Brokerages Set Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) Target Price at $53.00

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CENX. Zacks Research lowered Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 19th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th.

Century Aluminum Trading Up 11.8%

CENX stock opened at $52.40 on Thursday. Century Aluminum has a fifty-two week low of $13.05 and a fifty-two week high of $52.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.48. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 61.65 and a beta of 2.24.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.79 by ($0.23). Century Aluminum had a net margin of 3.47% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $632.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $629.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Century Aluminum’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Glencore plc grew its position in 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 last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 340.1% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,733,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339,744 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 612.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,424,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224,088 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Century Aluminum by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,901,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 392.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 767,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,539,000 after buying an additional 611,758 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.