Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Up 6.1% – Here’s Why

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) was up 6.1% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $36.25 and last traded at $36.2950. Approximately 230,036 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,104,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 20th. Barclays started coverage on Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Century Aluminum has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.60.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 2.07.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.13. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 22.63% and a return on equity of 33.83%. The firm had revenue of $752.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $817.15 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Century Aluminum Company will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 185,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,668,000 after acquiring an additional 41,857 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Century Aluminum by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $186,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 230.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 3,015 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 27.3% during the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 310,877 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,185,000 after acquiring an additional 55,241 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company is a producer of primary aluminum. The company operates aluminum reduction facilities that convert alumina into aluminum metal through the electrolytic smelting process. Its products include standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum, which is supplied to manufacturers and other industrial customers.

Century Aluminum serves markets such as automotive, aerospace, construction, packaging and consumer products. Its operations have included facilities in the United States and Iceland, including smelters in Kentucky, South Carolina and at Grundartangi, Iceland.