Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CENX. B. Riley upped their price target on Century Aluminum from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Century Aluminum from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Century Aluminum from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $22.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday.

Century Aluminum Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CENX opened at $18.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Century Aluminum has a twelve month low of $9.65 and a twelve month high of $25.39. The stock has a market cap of $1.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 2.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.16.

Century Aluminum (NASDAQ:CENX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.05. Century Aluminum had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $631.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $515.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Century Aluminum will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Century Aluminum

In related news, CEO Jesse E. Gary sold 29,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.97, for a total transaction of $554,739.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 50,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $962,784.41. The trade was a 36.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Century Aluminum

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Century Aluminum by 2,889.3% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 2,427 shares during the period. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Century Aluminum during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Century Aluminum by 159.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Century Aluminum during the fourth quarter valued at $189,000. 61.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.