Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.00.

Several research firms recently commented on CENX. Zacks Research downgraded Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 19th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $37.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Century Aluminum from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Century Aluminum news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 150,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $7,228,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 292,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,099,430.20. This trade represents a 33.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.76% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Glencore plc lifted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Glencore plc now owns 53,511,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,096,596,000 after acquiring an additional 13,454,538 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 18.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,094,257 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Century Aluminum by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,665,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,053,000 after purchasing an additional 426,306 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 340.1% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,733,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $31,248,000 after buying an additional 1,339,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Century Aluminum by 2.0% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,457,401 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $42,789,000 after buying an additional 27,999 shares in the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENX opened at $54.04 on Thursday. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $13.05 and a 1 year high of $55.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $42.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.12. The company has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a PE ratio of 63.58 and a beta of 2.24.

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.