Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Trading 11.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Century Aluminum Company (NASDAQ:CENX) was up 11.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $58.74 and last traded at $59.3980. Approximately 678,597 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 2,433,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CENX. Wall Street Zen upgraded Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on 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 report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Century Aluminum currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $57.00.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $50.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 148.35 and a beta of 2.16.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $1.25 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $633.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $661.63 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Century Aluminum Company will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Century Aluminum news, CAO Robert F. Hoffman sold 10,529 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.51, for a total transaction of $594,993.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 56,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,200,895.93. The trade was a 15.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Dezee sold 66,000 shares of the company’s 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. This trade represents a 40.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 401,626 shares of company stock valued at $20,847,911 in the last quarter. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,121,000. Beartown Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,959,000. Summit Global Investments acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter worth approximately $299,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 48.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 18,772 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $735,000 after acquiring an additional 6,152 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

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.