Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,820,000 shares, a growth of 10.0% from the August 15th total of 5,290,000 shares. Approximately 11.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Century Aluminum Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Century Aluminum stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $14.21. 738,110 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,388,501. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 6.62 and a beta of 2.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $14.65 and its 200 day moving average is $15.65. Century Aluminum has a 1 year low of $5.70 and a 1 year high of $21.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The industrial products company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $560.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $530.90 million. Century Aluminum had a net margin of 10.32% and a negative return on equity of 0.04%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Century Aluminum will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Century Aluminum

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

Institutional Trading of Century Aluminum

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 911.3% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 17,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 15,319 shares during the period. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Century Aluminum in the 2nd quarter valued at $704,000. Impala Asset Management LLC raised its position in Century Aluminum by 20.6% in the 2nd quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 850,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,238,000 after purchasing an additional 145,000 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Century Aluminum by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 27,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Century Aluminum by 1,208.7% during the 2nd quarter. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,401,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,294,538 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CENX. B. Riley dropped their target price on shares of Century Aluminum from $24.00 to $22.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Century Aluminum from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

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.