Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Now Covered by Barclays

Equities research analysts at Barclays began coverage on shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.53% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Century Aluminum from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Century Aluminum from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.60.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ CENX traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $32.65. 99,960 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,097,494. Century Aluminum has a 12 month low of $25.40 and a 12 month high of $70.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $42.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 2.07.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.33 by $0.13. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 33.83% and a net margin of 22.63%. The company had revenue of $752.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $817.15 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Century Aluminum will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum during the second quarter valued at approximately $474,129,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $107,422,000 after acquiring an additional 957,571 shares during the last quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 210.4% during the 1st quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,049,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,525 shares in the last quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 975,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $57,223,000 after purchasing an additional 117,195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kinetic Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,736,000. 61.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company is a producer of primary aluminum. The company operates aluminum reduction facilities that convert alumina into aluminum metal through the electrolytic smelting process. Its products include standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum, which is supplied to manufacturers and other industrial customers.

Century Aluminum serves markets such as automotive, aerospace, construction, packaging and consumer products. Its operations have included facilities in the United States and Iceland, including smelters in Kentucky, South Carolina and at Grundartangi, Iceland.