Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) shares reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $40.00 and last traded at $39.9520, with a volume of 3570 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.31.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CENX has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.84 and a beta of 2.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.56 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 firm had revenue of $632.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $629.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Century Aluminum’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 53,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Century Aluminum by 12.9% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Century Aluminum by 2.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 20,926 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.