Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) shares gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $55.34, but opened at $50.52. Century Aluminum shares last traded at $50.5890, with a volume of 1,320,936 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on CENX. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $61.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. B. Riley Financial lifted their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.05 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $50.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.46.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.25. The company had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.63 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 1.65% and a return on equity of 5.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 2,971 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.67, for a total value of $156,482.57. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 64,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,415,280.81. This trade represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total value of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,200,895.93. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 401,626 shares of company stock valued at $20,847,911 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Glencore plc lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Glencore plc now owns 53,511,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,096,596,000 after purchasing an additional 13,454,538 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 340.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,733,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,339,744 shares during the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 612.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC now owns 1,424,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,662,000 after acquiring an additional 1,224,088 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $271,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Century Aluminum by 392.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 767,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,539,000 after acquiring an additional 611,758 shares during the last quarter. 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.