Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Stock

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $61.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.07% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on CENX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 5.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:CENX opened at $54.73 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Century Aluminum has a 52-week low of $13.05 and a 52-week high of $59.12. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.66. The company has a market capitalization of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 136.83 and a beta of 2.17.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its 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 analysts’ expectations of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Century Aluminum

In other Century Aluminum news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 292,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,099,430.20. This trade represents a 33.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total transaction of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 56,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,895.93. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 251,626 shares of company stock valued at $12,527,411. 0.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CENX. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 253.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 61.59% of the stock is owned by 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.