Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

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

Century Aluminum Trading Down 5.7%

CENX stock opened at $41.54 on Friday. Century Aluminum has a 12-month low of $25.40 and a 12-month high of $70.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $45.64 and its 200 day moving average is $53.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.99.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released 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 return on equity of 33.83% and a net margin of 22.63%.The business had revenue of $752.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.15 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at $474,129,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 5,428.0% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,534,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,637,000 after buying an additional 3,470,866 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 109.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,830,324 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $107,422,000 after buying an additional 957,571 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Century Aluminum by 210.4% in the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,049,000 after buying an additional 1,051,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 13.7% during the first quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 975,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $57,223,000 after buying an additional 117,195 shares during the period. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company is a producer of primary aluminum. The company operates aluminum smelters that convert alumina into aluminum metal, supplying standard-grade and value-added products used in transportation, construction, packaging, and other industrial applications.

Century Aluminum’s operations are primarily located in the United States and Iceland. Its U.S. portfolio includes facilities in Sebree, Kentucky, and Mount Holly, South Carolina, while its Icelandic operations include the Grundartangi smelter, operated through its Norðurál subsidiary.