Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Price Target Raised to $86.00 at B. Riley Financial

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) had its price objective raised by B. Riley Financial from $68.00 to $86.00 in a research note released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. B. Riley Financial currently has a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on CENX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Century Aluminum from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of Century Aluminum stock opened at $66.03 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 165.08 and a beta of 1.99. Century Aluminum has a 12 month low of $13.05 and a 12 month high of $67.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25. The business had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 1.65%.Century Aluminum’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.47, for a total transaction of $8,320,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 142,580 shares in the company, valued at $7,908,912.60. The trade was a 51.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matt Aboud sold 12,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.50, for a total value of $636,615.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 67,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,560,235. The trade was a 15.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 401,626 shares of company stock valued at $20,847,911 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 253.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.