Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading Down 7.5% – Time to Sell?

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX)’s share price dropped 7.5% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $44.17 and last traded at $44.0980. 720,886 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 2,138,765 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.69.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Monday, August 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Century Aluminum from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 6.8%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.73 and a 200 day moving average of $53.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 1.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.75 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CENX. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 22.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 39,001 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 7,051 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 59,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,098,000 after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 21.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 21,702 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 147,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 9,721 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Century Aluminum

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.