Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $56.97 and last traded at $57.2180, with a volume of 1611163 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CENX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Zacks Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Century Aluminum from $46.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.33.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 144.11 and a beta of 2.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 5.57% and a net margin of 1.65%.The company had revenue of $633.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.63 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Century Aluminum news, SVP Matt Aboud sold 2,971 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 64,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,415,280.81. This represents a 4.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of Century Aluminum stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.72, for a total transaction of $3,347,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,952,655.84. The trade was a 40.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 241,097 shares of company stock valued at $11,932,418. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CENX. Glencore plc grew its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Glencore plc now owns 53,511,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,096,596,000 after buying an additional 13,454,538 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in Century Aluminum by 340.1% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Sourcerock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Century Aluminum by 612.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,224,088 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,939,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,901,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094,257 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 392.3% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 767,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,539,000 after purchasing an additional 611,758 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.