Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,470,000 shares, a growth of 9.5% from the May 31st total of 6,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.2 days. Approximately 14.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Century Aluminum Price Performance

NASDAQ:CENX opened at $16.67 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 2.52. Century Aluminum has a one year low of $5.70 and a one year high of $19.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $17.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.00.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported ($0.39) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.20). The company had revenue of $489.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $520.30 million. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 4.27% and a net margin of 10.72%. Analysts anticipate that Century Aluminum will post 0.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Century Aluminum from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Century Aluminum from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total value of $972,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,447 shares in the company, valued at $1,012,265.87. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Century Aluminum

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Century Aluminum during the first quarter worth approximately $521,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 6.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 34,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Century Aluminum by 1,147.0% in the first quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 976,894 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,034,000 after acquiring an additional 898,554 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in Century Aluminum by 13,746.2% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,819,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,567,000 after purchasing an additional 39,900 shares during the last quarter. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Century Aluminum

Century Aluminum Company, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production of standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products in the United States and Iceland. It also owns and operates an alumina production facility in Iceland, and a carbon anode production facility in the Netherlands.