Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) EVP John Dezee Sells 66,000 Shares of Stock

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.72, for a total value of $3,347,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,647 shares in the company, valued at $4,952,655.84. This represents a 40.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Century Aluminum Trading Down 4.4%

NASDAQ CENX traded down $2.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $50.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 272,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,370,120. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 127.56 and a beta of 2.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Century Aluminum Company has a 52-week low of $13.05 and a 52-week high of $55.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.13.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.55%. The company had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $661.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Century Aluminum’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 22.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $724,000 after buying an additional 7,051 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,098,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 124,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,301,000 after purchasing an additional 21,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 10,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $197,000 after purchasing an additional 3,980 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on CENX shares. B. Riley Financial boosted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

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.