Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Short Interest Up 9.5% in June

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was the target of a large increase in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,470,000 shares, an increase of 9.5% from the May 31st total of 6,820,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.2 days. Approximately 14.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total value of $972,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 62,447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,012,265.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 45,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 13,746.2% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 199.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 33,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Trading Up 6.7 %

Shares of CENX stock traded up $1.26 on Wednesday, hitting $20.19. 2,770,380 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,423,740. Century Aluminum has a twelve month low of $5.70 and a twelve month high of $21.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.87 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 2.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $17.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.20). The firm had revenue of $489.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.30 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 10.72%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 0.62 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CENX. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands.