Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Down 6.9% – Time to Sell?

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) traded down 6.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $20.39 and last traded at $20.25. 1,218,169 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 1,455,772 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CENX shares. StockNews.com raised Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $19.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 2.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total transaction of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. This represents a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 1,607.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mountaineer Partners Management LLC now owns 22,849,097 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $370,841,000 after purchasing an additional 21,510,639 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,279,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,774,000 after acquiring an additional 13,486 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Century Aluminum by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 959,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,565,000 after acquiring an additional 319,164 shares during the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Century Aluminum by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 904,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,672,000 after acquiring an additional 54,000 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Century Aluminum by 16.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 621,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,084,000 after purchasing an additional 89,621 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.