Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Century Aluminum in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Century Aluminum from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 20th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Century Aluminum in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.60.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of Century Aluminum stock opened at $33.50 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 2.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.75. Century Aluminum has a 52-week low of $25.40 and a 52-week high of $70.43.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $752.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $817.15 million. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 59.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Century Aluminum during the second quarter worth $474,129,000. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Century Aluminum by 210.4% in the first quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,551,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,525 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $107,422,000 after acquiring an additional 957,571 shares during the last quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in Century Aluminum in the second quarter valued at $35,736,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,709,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Century Aluminum Company Profile

Century Aluminum Company is a producer of primary aluminum. The company operates aluminum smelters that convert alumina into aluminum metal, supplying standard-grade and value-added products used in transportation, construction, packaging, aerospace, and other industrial applications.

Century Aluminum’s operations are located in the United States and Iceland. Its U.S. facilities include the Sebree smelter in Kentucky and the Mt. Holly smelter in South Carolina, while its Icelandic operations are based at the Grundartangi aluminum smelter.